Who would have thought sitting at home watching Oprah would inspire an everyday working mum to create one of the most giving charities in Australia.
Mother-of-two Alessia Figliano operates World of Smiles, a charity that assists other charities to host events and raise money and awareness. She says watching an episode of Oprah helped her put her plan into action.
“I was looking for part-time work but wasn’t having any luck and I’d just seen Oprah‘s “Big Give” series and was really inspired,” Alessia says.
“I thought it would be great to be able to make a difference somewhere, even if it was small,” she says.
“It’s something I’d always wanted to do but at a later stage when it was financially viable. My husband suggested I start now rather than later and World of Smiles was founded!”
Since starting in 2008, the charity has expanded from holding small raffles to now hosting large charity dinners and events. In the three years it has been running World of Smiles has helped charities like the Heart Foundation, the Children’s Cancer Institute Australia and The Spastic Centre.
“At the moment it’s about raising awareness and raising funds for the charities where they need it most, at the same time providing entertaining events for attendees and our supporters,” Alessia says.
“Eventually I would like World of Smiles to be a foundation so that the impact can be spread throughout the world.
“Our mission is to assist bringing community awareness, positive solutions and happiness for those in need whilst helping raise appreciation and joy for attendees of events and inspiring them with the World of Smiles intention. Our intention is to assist with the positive evolution of humanity.”
Alessia says the one thing which constantly surprises her is the overwhelming, kind-hearted response people have towards charity events.
“Being the events coordinator means being involved in organising sponsorship for the events, networking and contacting people to invite and organising the prizes for the event,” Alessia says.
“When I organise the prizes I’m always amazed by the generosity of my sponsors. This is something I really enjoy doing and I always like to get a little something extra that I can just give away without any expectations.”
On average, Alessia works on World of Smiles around 45 hours each week. This is as well as raising her two young daughters, seven-year old Isabella and two-year-old Ayva, running the household and working part-time as a conveyancing paralegal for a law firm.
Like all busy working mums, it’s hard to see how she copes. But when asked about how she juggles it all, Alessia says the answer is simple.
“The results I get from the events and when people tell me that I’m inspiring and want to work with me is what drives me,” Alessia says.
“I work out at least four days a week, eat healthy food and try to get at least six hours sleep a night so that helps with the energy levels. I have a very positive attitude to life which also keeps my energy levels up.”
The next event to be held by World of Smiles is a Cruise to raise $15,000 for Autism Spectrum Australia to be held on Saturday May 22.
Visit www.worldofsmiles.org.au for event details.
