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Oct. 23 Ben Folds Five Concert Benefits Operation SmileOct. 10 Operation Smile Utah Hosts Volunteer ReunionOct. 2 RacingThePlanetSep. 25 7th Annual Smile Gala in Los Angeles Helps Children Around the WorldSep. 24 Operation Smile Denver Chapter Raises Nearly $10,000 Sep. 22 Ben Folds Five Concert Benefits Operation SmileAug. 29 Operation Smile Joins USNS Mercy as Part of Four-Month Southeast Asia Deployment – Pacific Partnership 2008Aug. 22 16th Annual International Student Leadership Conference Aug. 15 Direct Marketing Association’s Nonprofit Federation Recognizes Operation Smile as 2008 Nonprofit Organization of the YearAug. 13 Operation Smile Joins USS Kearsarge for Continuing Promise 2008 to Bring Smiles to Children in Nicaragua and ColombiaAug. 7 Sony Electronics Helps Children SmileJul. 18 Operation Smile Supports WHO Safe Surgery Saves Lives InitiativeJul. 17 Doctors Join Together To Change Marie’s LifeJul. 16 Runners Begin More Than 2,000-Mile Journey Around South African CoastJul. 16 NorthWest AirCares Provides Alternative Donation OptionJul. 14 Dental Care Clinic Opens in Casablanca, MoroccoJul. 7 Operation Smile Conducts American Heart Association Training Program in EgyptJun. 19 Cindy McCain Joins Operation Smile Medical Mission in VietnamJun. 12 Operation Smile Medical Student ConferenceJun. 10 Operation Smile provides 45 Brazilian children with new smilesJun. 10 Successful Post-operative Program completed at Operation Smile Jordan CenterJun. 9 Operation Smile Treats 2,000th Patient During International Medical Mission to PeruJun. 4 Operation Smile Joins USNS Mercy as Part of Four-Month Southeast Asia Deployment – Pacific Partnership 2008Jun. 2 5th Annual Smile Event Raises Nearly $2 MillionMay. 30 Operation Smile Jr. Smile Collection Event Helps Children Around the WorldMay. 22 Operation Smile Conducts Inaugural Child and Family Advocate Training Program in Panama CityMay. 21 Healthcare Providers from 28 Countries Arrive in Norfolk for Operation Smile's Medical Education Conference May 26 - June 6May. 7 DKNY and InStyle “Picture Yourself” Event at Saks Fifth Avenue Benefits Operation SmileMay. 6 Operation Smile South Africa Conducts Inaugural Swaziland Medical MissionMay. 1 Operation Smile Celebrates National Volunteer WeekApr. 30 Comprehensive Care Center Opens in Amman, JordanApr. 23 Oral-B Satin Floss and Samantha Harris Help Operation Smile Share the Joy of a SmileApr. 11 World Journey of Smiles Photography Exhibition and Reception Benefits Operation SmileMar. 25 More Than 2,000 Students Run to Help Children Around the WorldMar. 20 Operation Smile Provides Surgery to Ethiopian Teenager in Norfolk, VirginiaMar. 20 Operation Smile holds inaugural mission in HaitiMar. 10 Windows Live $500,000 Donation Commemorates Operation Smile’s 25th AnniversaryFeb. 27 Co-founders Receive "First Citizen Award"Feb. 6 Volunteer Opportunity: Operation Smile Charity Hospital Opens in Hangzhou, ChinaFeb. 5 Ten Operation Smile volunteers receive President's Service Award from Youth Matter America Jan. 21 Photographers Join Together to Give Children New SmilesJan. 18 World Journey of Smiles Treats More than 4,000 Children Across the GlobeJan. 16 Abreva's “Kiss it Forward” Valentine's Day Campaign Benefits Operation SmileJan. 11 Operation Smile Board of Directors Member Donald Trump Jr. Rings NASDAQ Stock Market Closing Bell
Ben Folds Five Concert Benefits Operation Smile
MySpace to Rebroadcast Concert Beginning October 23
On September 18, at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, popular rock band Ben Folds Five reunited for a live concert to benefit Operation Smile. This concert was the first in a series titled “Front to Back” produced by MySpace.com. The show is being rebroadcast, beginning October 23, on the “Front to Back” official MySpace profile http://myspace.com/fronttoback.
Operation Smile’s information table was at the entrance of the Memorial Hall Auditorium. Students from the University of North Carolina Greensboro Speech and Hearing Department distributed handbills and fliers that informed concert goers about Operation Smile’s medical missions and prompted them to donate $5 to Operation Smile by texting the word “Smile” to 90999 on their cell phones. At the table, attendees were invited to sign up for e-News and volunteers handed out wristbands, buttons, and t-shirts to those who pledged to take part in the texting campaign.
Before the concert, Operation Smile representatives Renee Hamilton and Brooke Marshall took to the stage to explain to the crowd the organization’s work and encourage the audience to text and donate. Operation Smile reps also threw t-shirts out to the crowd.
Operation Smile Utah Hosts Volunteer Reunion
The Operation Smile Utah Chapter Board hosted its First Annual Volunteer Reunion on September 27 on the farm of Don and Peggy Watkins in Alpine, to honor and thank Utah volunteers and supporters of Operation Smile. More than 200 student, medical and board volunteers as well as Operation Smile supporters attended the event as well as Operation Smile Co-founders Dr. Bill and Kathy Magee. Utah Lieutenant Governor Gary Herbert honored the guests and congratulated them on sharing Utah’s volunteer spirit with Operation Smile. Guests were treated to hay rides, a barbecue dinner and dancing to a special performance by the Osmond Family: 2nd Generation.
RacingThePlanet
Operation Smile Egypt will be conducting its inaugural mission to Cairo, Egypt October 23-30, 2008. RacingthePlanet will be sponsoring this mission which coincides with their Sahara Race 2008. Beginning October 26, 2008, 150 competitors from 30 countries will be competing in the seven-day, 250-kilometer footrace, combining a rugged physical challenge with a rich international and cultural experience. Each individual must also carry his or her own gear, food and clothing in a backpack. The Sahara Race, first run in September 2005, is one of the four races in RacingthePlanet’s ‘4 Deserts’ racing series, a unique worldwide endurance series.
On Friday, October 24, Operation Smile Egypt is honored to host all competitors and volunteers in joining Operation Smile volunteers as they provide free physical examinations for children and young adults suffering from cleft lips and/or cleft palates. The athletes will spend time at the hospital with the patients and families - during what promises to be a pivotal and inspiring day - before beginning their seven-day journey into the White Sands. The local impact of the Operation Smile medical mission on the patients and families in the Cairo region, coupled with high interest in the Sahara Race 2008, will lend a ceremonious atmosphere to the start of the race.
RacingThePlanet commenced operations from its base in Hong Kong in 2002. The first race under its banner was the Gobi March held in September 2003 near Dunhuang, China with 42 competitors. In addition to the Gobi March and the Sahara Race, the other 2 races in the ‘4 Deserts’ racing series, include the Atacama Crossing in Chile, the Last Desert in Antarctica. Though in different places in the world, all of the races in the ‘4 Deserts’ racing series follow a similar format.
For more information visit the Racing the Planet Website, or donate in the name of a competitor.
7th Annual Smile Gala in Los Angeles Helps Children Around the World
Operation Smile held its 7th Annual Smile Gala on September 18, 2008 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, Calif. Thanks to the generosity of sponsors and the nearly 600 guests who attended the event, approximately $2 million was raised. “E! News” host Giuliana Rancic emceed and entertainment included special performances by Elliott Yamin of “American Idol,” Jackson Guthy and James Burnett and Reilly Downey. The event was Co-Chaired by Roma Downey and Mark Burnett, Victoria Jackson and Bill Guthy and Kelly and Ron Meyer.
The Universal Smile Award was presented to Mario Lopez by Smile Ambassador and actress Roselyn Sanchez. Mario danced his way into America’s hearts on the hit ABC program “Dancing with the Stars” and was most recently named the new host of the daily syndicated entertainment magazine program, “Extra.”
The Wallis Annenberg Public Service Award was presented to Vicky Mense by her children, Natalie and Daniel. Vicky was born in Taipei, Taiwan and moved to the United States in 1984 with her husband Raphael Mense. She opened Xi’an restaurant in Beverly Hills in 1996. She currently serves as Chairwoman of the Board of the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce and is also a member of the Beverly Hills Rotary Club, Maple Counseling Center and Beverly Hills Global Partners. Vicky recently participated on an Operation Smile medical mission to Urumqi, China.
Gary Carter, Chief Creative Officer, FMX and President, Creative Networks, for FremantleMedia accepted the Corporate Humanitarian Award on behalf of the Idol Gives Back Foundation, a nonprofit organization established by the producers of American Idol and Fox to raise money and awareness for children and families living in poverty and at risk in the United States and Africa.
Operation Smile Co-founders Dr. Bill and Kathy Magee made a special Founders Circle presentation to the Roma Downey and Mark Burnett family. Roma has served as an Operation Smile spokesperson for five years and currently serves on the Board of Governors. In March 2008, Roma and her husband Mark Burnett and three children Cameron, Reilly and James traveled to Amman, Jordan, to attend an Operation Smile medical mission as well as the opening ceremony of the Roma Downey Life Support Training Center. Roma donated funds to help establish the Center as well as life support program equipment and books and funds needed to support training programs for one year.
A highlight of the evening included an appeal made by Smile Ambassador Carmit Bachar and 10-year-old Paige Atkinson from Bakersfield, Calif. Both were born with cleft lips and cleft palates and were helped by Dr. Labib Samarrai, a long-time Operation Smile medical volunteer and doctor at Kaiser-Permanente in Los Angeles.
A donation of $100,000 was presented by Ed Wallace, VP of Community Affairs & Sony USA Foundation, Sony Electronics, Inc. Sony recently partnered with Operation Smile through its promotion for Sony Cyber-shot cameras featuring Smile Shutter.
Smile Ambassadors Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Eric Winter also attended, joined by John Salley, Niecy Nash, Spencer Pratt, Heidi Montag, Catherine Oxenberg, Casper Van Dien, Mariel Hemingway, Trenyce (recording artist and former American Idol contestant), Simon Quarterman, MyAnna Buring, Matt Cedeno, Erica Franco, Michael Copon, Apl.de.Ap (Black Eyed Peas), Tamlyn Tomita, Janet Yang, Sebastian Seigel (The Family That Preys) and Dr. Anthony Griffin.
Operation Smile Denver Chapter Raises Nearly $10,000
The Operation Smile Denver Chapter held an awareness event at the trendy Jet Hotel on September 18, 2008 which raised nearly $10,000. More than 100 supporters attended and enjoyed cocktails and hors d’oeuvres while learning more about Operation Smile’s work. Operation Smile medical volunteers Dr. Roger Barkin, a pediatrician, and Kristin Neumann, a recovery room nurse, gave inspiring presentations about personal experiences during Operation Smile medical missions. Twenty “smiles” were bought and children’s book author Dorian Weatherley-White, the wife of long time plastic surgeon volunteer, Dr. Chris Weatherley-White, donated a copy of her new book “Tub-boats and the Floating Village” to every donor that purchased a smile. Special thanks to event volunteer organizers Jennifer Laird and Christy Purcell, their planning committee and Vonnegut, the Jet Hotel, Wazee Supper Club, Pepperdines Marketing Products, Spectrum Audio Visual and Sarah Clymer of Remember this Moment Photography for their kind contributions.
Ben Folds Five Concert Benefits Operation Smile
On Sept 18, 2008 at the University of North Carolina Campus in Chapel Hill, popular rock band Ben Folds Five reunited for a live concert to benefit Operation Smile. This concert was the first in a series titled “Front to Back” produced by MySpace.com. The concert will be broadcast in its entirety on MySpace later this fall.
Operation Smile’s table was situated right at the entrance of the beautiful Memorial Hall Auditorium. At the entrance and throughout the lobby area, students from the UNCG Speech and Hearing Department distributed handbills and fliers that talked about Operation Smile’s medical missions and prompted concert goers to donate $5 to Operation Smile by texting the word “Smile” to 90999 on their cell phones. At the Operation Smile table, the mostly 20-something crowd, were invited to sign up for e-News and volunteers handed out wristbands, buttons, and t-shirts to those who pledged to take part in the texting campaign.
Before the concert, Operation Smile representatives Renee Hamilton and Brooke Marshall took to the stage to explain to the crowd the organization’s work and encourage the audience to text and donate. Operation Smile reps also threw t-shirts out to the crowd. As concertgoers departed, many took informational fliers and sported blue Operation Smile wristbands to show their support. This was the first of Operation Smile’s new texting campaign that will be developed to further raise funds and awareness for Operation Smile.
Operation Smile Joins USNS Mercy as Part of Four-Month Southeast Asia Deployment – Pacific Partnership 2008
Operation Smile joined the United States Navy’s hospital ship, USNS Mercy, during its summer 2008 humanitarian civic assistance deployment. Operation Smile worked side-by-side on the USNS Mercy in four countries: Philippines, Vietnam, Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea. Nearly 300 children suffering with cleft lips and cleft palates received free reconstructive surgery as a result of these four medical missions. The USNS Mercy mission, Pacific Partnership 2008, provided humanitarian services to five countries in Southeast Asia. Pacific Partnership 2008 brought together host nation medical personnel, partner nation military medical and construction personnel, and non-governmental organizations to provide medical, dental, construction and other services ashore and afloat.
USNS Mercy departed from San Diego, Calif., on May 1. The first mission involving Operation Smile took place in Cotabato, Philippines, from May 29-June 12. Nearly 50 Operation Smile volunteers, most from the Philippines, provided 100 free physical examinations at Cotabato Regional Hospital to identify surgical patients who were transported aboard the ship for surgery. The Operation Smile medical team worked with Navy medical personnel and provided 54 patients with cleft lip and cleft palate surgery.
USNS Mercy moved on to Nha Trang, Vietnam, for the next medical mission involving Operation Smile in mid-June. The team of 54 medical volunteers worked in collaboration with the Navy medical team at General Hospital of Khanh Hoa Province and provided free physical examinations to 121 children born with facial deformities. On June 19, Operation Smile Board of Directors member Cindy McCain joined Operation Smile’s medical mission in Nha Trang. McCain led a tour of the hospital accompanied by Operation Smile Chief Medical Officer Dr. Randy Sherman and Operation Smile Vietnam Medical Director Dr. Lam Hoai Phuong. McCain met patients and families and interacted with Operation Smile volunteers. “When you see a child anywhere, say a child that doesn’t have food or a child with a cleft palate who’s been kept in a back room because the family is embarrassed or whatever it may be, it takes you back to really what’s basic and what’s really important,” said McCain. Operation Smile’s medical team, made up primarily of volunteers from Vietnam also included team members from Brazil, England, Laos, Singapore, Spain and the United States. The team worked with Navy personnel to conduct three days of surgery aboard the ship and treated 91 patients. At the conclusion of the Nha Trang mission, Vice Admiral Doug Crowder, U.S. 7th Fleet Commander, said, “It is wonderful to actual see what great work our forces have done in the field and the smiles on the faces of the mothers who are brining their children. The dental facilities and the work that Operation Smile and others are doing is just tremendous. I’m awful proud of this entire medical team.”
Operation Smile then joined the USNS Mercy in Dili, Timor-Leste, in mid-July. This represented Operation Smile’s first medical mission in Timor-Leste. The team of 30 volunteers, hailing from Australia, Brazil, Vietnam, the Philippines, Timor-Leste, and the United States, spent four days aboard USNS Mercy to work in collaboration with the Navy medical team. The team provided life-changing surgery to 76 Timorese children and adults. Operation Smile Australia played a central role in the planning of this mission. The United Nations, Plan International, Aspen Medical, the Ministry of Health Timor-Leste, and other volunteer members of the community came together to assist Operation Smile in locating and coordinating patients as they made the treacherous journey from remote, mountainous districts of Timor-Leste.
From August 3-16, Operation Smile joined USNS Mercy in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. This represented Operation Smile’s first medical mission in Papua New Guinea, and we were met again with an extremely positive response from the local community. Operation Smile was able to provide 74 children and adults with free reconstructive surgery. The volunteer medical team of 36 volunteers was from Australia, China, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The team spent four days aboard the USNS Mercy working side by side with the Navy medical team. The Rotary Club of Port Moresby, Oil Search PNG Limited, Medent, and other volunteer members of the community were instrumental in helping to locate and coordinate the patients. Again, the support of Operation Smile Australia was key to the success of this mission.
16th Annual International Student Leadership Conference
Hundreds of Students from Around the World Gather to Help Children with Facial Deformities
From August 2-6, more than 350 students gathered at San Diego State University in California for the 16th Annual International Student Leadership Conference (ISLC). Students from 17 United States and 16 other countries came together to learn about leadership, service, fund-raising, club organization and Operation Smile’s work around the world.
Highlights of the conference included speeches given by Lisa Nichols, contributor to the self-development phenomenon The Secret, and Benjamin Ajak, one of The Lost Boys of Sudan who co-authored They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky: The True Story of Three Lost Boys from Sudan. The speakers left conference participants with powerful messages including Ajak’s words of wisdom that “We are not here to work for ourselves. We are here to work for those who cannot work for themselves.” A favorite event was the “International Party” where the international students displayed their cultures through costume, dance and representative items from their countries. Students also took part in field day competitions, completed a service project to create nametags for future Operation Smile patients and enjoyed an evening at Sea World.
During the conference’s “Opening Ceremonies,” Operation Smile’s Co-founders Dr. Bill and Kathy Magee presented awards to some of the students in attendance. The awards recognize student volunteerism and effort and to encourage leadership and service. Claire Crawford from Mississippi received the Jennifer Pham Award, while Andrea Vega from El Salvador was presented with the Logan Taylor Award. The Francine Peterson Award went to Arielle Harris of New York. Teacher and Norfolk Academy Student Association advisor Pat Hume of Virginia received the Educator of the Year Award. The student group from Cibola High School in New Mexico was named Outstanding Student Club of the Year, while the International Club of the Year Award went to both Atlantic College in the United Kingdom and the Student Program in Ireland, which represents several clubs. Utah State University received the Outstanding University Club of the Year Award, and the New Club of the Year Award was presented to Westfield High School in New Jersey.
Prior to the ISLC, 46 students from 13 U.S states, Ireland, Mexico, and Paraguay attended Operation Smile’s bi-annual Mission Training Workshop at San Diego State University. From July 29-August 1, these students were trained to effectively teach basic health care, including oral rehydration therapy, burn care and prevention, proper nutrition and dental care, to families and patients during Operation Smile international medical missions. At the end of the intensive workshop, participants were given their mission assignments including missions to Brazil, China, Egypt, Madagascar, and Venezuela in the next six to twelve months. At least two students and one adult sponsor participate on every Operation Smile international mission. Hollie Tyrrell of Ireland said, “It was an amazing experience to meet 45 other students so dedicated to Operation Smile and I made lifelong friends from it. I loved everyday of it and am excited to go and put the things I learned into use in Kenya which will be a life-changing experience that I am fortunate enough to enjoy.” Students left the workshop informed, impassioned, and excited about Operation Smile’s mission including Kevin Prior of New Jersey who was grateful for the opportunity to “work together and meet other kids because we share the same goal of making life better for kids around the world.”
Direct Marketing Association’s Nonprofit Federation Recognizes Operation Smile as 2008 Nonprofit Organization of the Year
The Direct Marketing Association’s Nonprofit Federation (DMANF) awarded Operation Smile with its 2008 Nonprofit Organization of the Year Award, which annually recognizes an outstanding achievement by a nonprofit organization using direct-response marketing to advance its mission. The award was presented on August 15 at a luncheon that concluded the DMANF’s New York Nonprofit Conference, held August 14-15 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan.
“It is an honor to recognize Operation Smile with this prestigious award,” said Senny Boone, executive director of the DMANF. “Due to its successful fundraising and inspiring mission, Operation Smile has been a beacon to fellow organizations over the years. We are delighted to be able to celebrate their inspirational work and applaud them publicly.”
According to the DMANF the award recognizes Operation Smile for “meeting the high ethical standards of the nonprofit community and complying with generally accepted standards for management and public disclosure.”
Previous recipients include Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), American Diabetes Association, CARE, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, Special Olympics and other well-known nonprofit organizations.
Commenting on the award, Kyla Shawyer, senior vice president of response marketing and development for Operation Smile, said, “We appreciate this honor and privilege to represent our peers and the nonprofit industry. And we thank our committed and generous donors and volunteers, as well as our fellow nonprofit organizations, for helping make this possible. We’re grateful that we’ve been able to implement an integrated strategy in which all media channels come together not just to raise money or to build a brand, but to help change the face of our world.”
Operation Smile Joins USS Kearsarge for Continuing Promise 2008 to Bring Smiles to Children in Nicaragua and Colombia
Operation Smile, a worldwide children’s medical charity that provides free surgery to children in developing countries born with facial deformities, will join the United States Navy ship, USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), during its humanitarian assistance deployment. Continuing Promise 2008, a USSOUTHCOM directed operation, is an equal partnership mission designed to combine partner nation and U.S. relief capabilities to demonstrate the lasting bonds and shared interests among neighbors in the Caribbean, Central and South American regions. The mission brings together host nation medical personnel, partner nation military medical and construction personnel, and non-governmental organizations to provide medical, dental, construction and other services ashore and afloat.
Operation Smile will be working side-by-side on USS Kearsarge in two countries: Nicaragua and Colombia. Approximately 100 children suffering with cleft lips and cleft palates will receive free reconstructive surgery as a result of these medical missions.
Operation Smile Medical Officer Dr. Ruben Ayala said, “Operation Smile is honored to participate in the Continuing Promise 2008 deployment with USS Kearsarge, stationed in our hometown of Norfolk, Va. We have joined the Navy in 2006 during the Mercy mission to Bangladesh, worked with its sister ship, the USNS Comfort in 2007, for a multi-site partnership in Latin America, and this month are wrapping up missions conducted this summer with the Mercy in Southeast Asia. Operation Smile medical volunteers from Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Paraguay, the United States and Venezuela are excited to join with the Kearsage and its crew in bringing new smiles to children in Nicaragua and Colombia in August and September.”
USS Kearsarge departed Norfolk, Va., on August 6. The first mission involving Operation Smile will take place in Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, in mid August. Free medical evaluations will be conducted by Operation Smile medical volunteers at Nuevo Amanecer Hospital to identify surgical patients who will then be transported aboard the ship for surgery. Operation Smile medical volunteers and Navy personnel will complete four days of surgery. Post-operative checks for the patients a week after surgery will also take place at the hospital. Nicaragua became an Operation Smile partner country in 1993, and since then, medical volunteers have provided more than 2,000 with life-changing surgery during international and in-country local medical missions.
Kearsarge will move on to Santa Marta, Colombia, for the next medical mission involving Operation Smile in late August. Operation Smile medical volunteers from Colombia will work at Hospital Universitario Fernando Traconis to provide free physical examinations and surgery to children. Since 1988, Operation Smile has treated more than 5,400 children in Colombia through international medical missions, in-country local missions.
Sony Electronics Helps Children Smile
In the month of August, Sony Electronics is conducting a retail promotion for Sony Cyber-shot® cameras featuring Smile ShutterTM technology at Sony Style® Stores, Sonystyle.com, and other participating retailers. Through this effort, the company will make a $100,000 donation to Operation Smile. The funds will be used to provide free physical examinations and reconstructive surgeries for children suffering from cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities.
Sony is also donating Cyber-shot digital cameras to help Operation Smile volunteers capture smiles at more than 30 mission sites around the world. Equipped with Sony’s distinctive Smile Shutter technology, the cameras automatically capture a smile when the feature is activated, without having to press the shutter button. The result is snapshots with natural-looking smiles and expressions.
“It’s a precious moment when a child comes out of surgery with a new smile, so you don’t want to miss it and you want to get it right,” said Mike Fasulo, Chief Marketing Officer and Corporate Social Responsibility Officer at Sony Electronics. “Sony is in the business of preserving precious memories like these with our industry-leading digital imaging products and we are a proud supporter of Operation Smile.”
Headquartered in San Diego, Sony Electronics is a leading provider of audio/video electronics and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets.
Learn more at: Sony.com
Operation Smile Supports WHO Safe Surgery Saves Lives Initiative
On June 25th, Operation Smile participated in the global launch ceremony of the World Health Organization’s Safe Surgery Saves Lives Initiative.
Hosted by Dr. Mirta Roses Periago, WHO Regional Director for the Americas, the event highlighted the WHO’s new global campaign to improve the safety of surgical care. The event was attended by ministers of health and world leaders in surgery, anesthesiology and nursing joining together to focus on reducing deaths and complications from surgery globally.
During the ceremony, Dr. Randy Sherman, Operation Smile’s Chief Medical Officer, formally announced Operation’s Smile endorsement of the new WHO Surgical Safety Checklist. The list includes simple safety checks that the WHO team has shown could halve the rate of surgical complications. The list is intended to improve anesthetic safety practices, avoid infections and improve communication among members of surgical teams. Operation Smile is one of almost 200 surgery, anesthesia, nursing and patient societies formally endorsing the checklist.
Major surgery now occurs at a rate of 234 million procedures per year - one for every 25 people - and studies indicating that a significant percentage result in preventable complications and deaths.
"Preventable surgical injuries and deaths are a growing concern," said Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO. "Using the checklist is the best way to reduce surgical errors and improve patient safety."
Operation Smile’s involvement in the WHO Safe Surgery Saves Lives initiative is part of the organization’s broader efforts to advocate for and provide high quality, safe surgery in developing countries.
For more information on the Safe Surgery Saves Lives Initiative, please see:
http://www.who.int/patientsafety/safesurgery/en/
Doctors Join Together To Change Marie’s Life
Marie Gebrewold was born in Ethiopia. When she was only six-months-old, she fell out of her bed and broke both of her hands. However, no one noticed that she had also broken her jaw. As she grew, it became increasingly misaligned, affecting her speech and ability to eat. At age six, her parents took her to a specialist, who instructed them to wait a few years and then pursue treatment. Meanwhile, Marie suffered not only discomfort in eating and headaches, but also endured teasing from other children. After two to three years, her parents revisited the specialist, but at that point they could not afford surgery.
When she was a few years older, a group of physicians from Europe and the United States came to Ethiopia and offered to perform surgery. Through the pre surgical process, they discovered Marie had diabetes. As the physicians could not remain for follow up care after the surgery, the medical team made the decision that due to her diabetic condition, the risk for surgery was too great.
When Marie came to the U.S. at age 21, she was referred by Catholic Charities to dentist Dr. Patrick Kildea. With the assistance of Operation Smile, for which Kildea volunteers, he was able to pull together a dedicated team of doctors and resources for her to have the long awaited surgery at no cost.
Now 28-years-old, Marie, who lives in Wheaton, Maryland, is a very personable, smart, clinic nursing leadership student. However, she feels uncomfortable in social situations because people always ask “what happened to your jaw?”
When asked how she felt when she found out she would be getting surgery, Marie said, “When Dr. Kildea called me and told me that they have everything on hand, I cried, I didn’t have any words to express because I knew how this affected me in my childhood.” She added, “At some point I just gave up, I said okay maybe this is not happening for some reason. Maybe it is not the will of God. And Dr. Kildea, all the time he’d follow-up on the process…and always give me updates. He would say ‘don’t be disappointed, there will be a time when we have everything together, and this will happen, so don’t give up.’ He gave me all the hope throughout the whole five or six years. He is such a nice person.”
On May 15, a team of medical professionals led by Dr. Stephen Baker performed reconstructive surgery on Marie. Dr. Baker repositioned the jaw, and then filled in with fat grafts and tissue on the side where the jaw bone was shorter. Then he repositioned her chin correctly.
In addition to Dr. Kildea’s dentistry component and Dr. Baker’s major orthognathic surgery component, there are many other doctors who also helped. In 2004, Dr. Richard Giulani, donated his time and performed four teeth extractions and gave her braces. Dr. Peter Coccaro, donated the pre and post hospital orthodontics. Also, Dr. Eda Elbirlik, Dr. Pirooz Zia, and Dr. Tom Ollerhead donated pre and post surgical endodontics.
Recently, Marie became a U.S. citizen.
Runners Begin More Than 2,000-Mile Journey Around South African Coast
On Tuesday, July 1, extreme athletes David Grier and Braam Malherbe started a task many deemed ‘Mission Impossible’. They will be raising money for Operation Smile South Africa by ‘running a smile’ around the South African coastline. Their aim is to raise 1,000 South African Rand per kilometer, totaling 3.5-million South African Rand (USD $450,000). They began in Namibia and will run until they reach Ponta do Ouro in Mozambique, averaging 45km (28 miles) a day, six days a week for about three months.
“Nothing is Impossible,” Braam Malherbe told a group of cheering schoolchildren at the start in the Namibian frontier town of Oranjemund. The 3,500km (2,175 miles) endurance undertaking is supported by four Toyota 4x4s which are providing logistical support and being used to set up lunch stops and campsites each night.
This is a “journey of hope,” David Grier said of the event known as the Cipla Spar Miles for Smiles Coastal Challenge 2008, in association with Round Table South Africa. In a gesture rich in symbolism, the two athletes ran across the 1km-long bridge spanning the Orange River between Oranjemund and Alexander Bay, with Namibian and South African flags flying proudly. “That was a very special experience, carrying the flags in a symbol of unity.”
Pharmaceutical company Cipla Medpro and Spar South Africa are two of the sponsors, with Round Table South Africa also helping to raise funds.
In 2006, the two men from Cape Town, South Africa, were named South African Adventurers of the Year after they ran the entire length of the Great Wall of China, completing 4,218km (2,621 mi), the equivalent of 98 marathons in 98 days. That feat was accomplished under extreme weather conditions ranging from well below freezing to more than 40º C.
Grier and Malherbe’s daily progress can be charted and donations can be made on the Miles for Smiles website
NorthWest AirCares Provides Alternative Donation Option
NorthWest AirCares has a history of partnering with charities like Operation Smile to help provide care to children suffering from a variety of adversities. Now 15 years old, the program has received more than 650 million WorldPerks® miles from Northwest Airlines and its WorldPerks members, including the more than five million miles donated directly to Operation Smile.
You can help by donating your WorldPerks® miles or even money through the program to Operation Smile. Additionally, Northwest WorldPerks members who contribute at least $50 to Operation Smile are eligible to receive 500 Bonus Miles. Please save your Operation Smile donation receipt and send a copy to AirCares either at aircares@nwa.com or by U.S. Mail to the address shown below.
Northwest Airlines
Department A1300
2700 Lone Oak Parkway
St. Paul, MN 55121
Dental Care Clinic Opens in Casablanca, Morocco
Since its launch in 1998, Operation Smile Morocco announces its latest accomplishment – the opening of the first Operation Smile dental care clinic in Casablanca.
Inaugurated on June 15, 2008, the Angus Lawson Dental Care (ALDC) Department’s opening ceremony was attended by guests and donors from throughout Morocco and the United Kingdom. The clinic will provide year-round dental care to Moroccan children.
The clinic was funded, in part, by the Angus Lawson Memorial Trust. The purpose of the trust is to make funds available to directly support children from underprivileged or disadvantaged backgrounds, and to meet healthcare or educational needs. Angus Lawson was almost two years old when he passed away after an accident in 2006.
On the day of the opening of the new clinic, 57 Moroccan orphans were treated, many of them seeing a dentist for the first time. The goal of the clinic is to treat 5,000 children in the first year.
Operation Smile Comprehensive Care Centers have already been opened in Colombia, Honduras, China, India, and Vietnam to provide surgical treatment and pre- and post-operative follow-up for thousands of additional patients, especially those in remote areas. Another Comprehensive Care Center is also slated to open in the Philippines. The Centers will also help train medical volunteers, strengthen local development and fundraising activities and provide on-going administrative support for in-country activities.
Since Operation Smile's first mission to Morocco in 1998, volunteers have provided free physical examinations to more than 7,800 patients and life-changing surgery to more than 3,000 children and young adults during international medical missions.
Operation Smile Conducts American Heart Association Training Program in Egypt
Operation Smile Egypt successfully conducted American Heart Association (AHA) training in Cairo, Egypt, in June 2008. Operation Smile is an International Training Organization (ITO) of the American Heart Association (AHA) program, allowing us to develop training networks and provide Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Basic Life Support (BLS) certification to medical professionals around the world. Operation Smile is the only organization authorized by the AHA to function as a global and mobile ITO.
The training program was held in the Arab Contractors Medical Centre in Cairo. Twenty-three participants received the ACLS certification, 22 participants received the PALS certification and 40 participants received the BLS certification. Operation Smile Egypt presented the courses to their in-country volunteers and other medical professionals. After the training, many participating doctors and nurses requested to volunteer for Operation Smile Egypt.
The Arab Contractors Medical Centre management is looking forward to future cooperation with Operation Smile Egypt in the training sector.
Cindy McCain Joins Operation Smile Medical Mission in Vietnam
On June 19, Operation Smile Board of Directors member Cindy McCain joined Operation Smile’s medical mission in Nha Trang, Vietnam. The volunteer medical team worked at General Hospital of Khanh Hoa Province and provided free physical examinations to 121 children born with facial deformities. McCain led a tour of the hospital accompanied by Operation Smile Chief Medical Officer Dr. Randy Sherman and Operation Smile Vietnam Medical Director Dr. Lam Hoai Phuong. McCain met patients and families and interacted with Operation Smile volunteers. Operation Smile’s medical team, made up primarily of volunteers provided by Operation Smile Vietnam and Operation Smile Cambodia, will work with Navy personnel to conduct five days of surgery aboard the United States Navy’s hospital ship USNS Mercy. Operation Smile has joined the USNS Mercy during its summer 2008 humanitarian civic assistance deployment.
McCain said, “When you see a child anywhere, say a child that doesn’t have food or a child with a cleft palate who’s been kept in a back room because the family is embarrassed or whatever it may be, it takes you back to really what’s basic and what’s really important.”
McCain has been involved with Operation Smile since 2001 and this is her fifth Operation Smile medical mission experience. Cindy has a sincere belief in the organization’s work and is a dedicated and active volunteer with a truly personal connection. In 1993, Senator John and Cindy McCain adopted a child born with a cleft palate from Mother Teresa’s orphanage in Bangladesh. Bridget was successfully treated in the U.S., and today is 16 years old.
Operation Smile will be working side-by-side on the USNS Mercy in four countries: Philippines, Vietnam, Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea. The USNS Mercy mission, Pacific Partnership 2008, will provide humanitarian services to five countries in Southeast Asia. Pacific Partnership 2008 brings together host nation medical personnel, partner nation military medical and construction personnel, and non-governmental organizations to provide medical, dental, construction and other services ashore and afloat.
USNS Mercy will move on to Dili, Timor-Leste, for the next medical mission involving Operation Smile in mid-July.
Click Here to read about the medical mission in Cotabato, Philippines
Operation Smile Medical Student Conference
During the week of June 2-6, ten medical students took part in the inaugural Operation Smile Medical Student Conference. Held in Norfolk, Va., the conference aimed at expanding Operation Smile Student Programs to medical schools throughout the U.S. Funded and spearheaded by Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS), the conference provided eight students from EVMS, one student from Albany Medical College, and one student from SUNY Upstate Medical University with an in depth look at cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries. In addition, part of the week focused on leadership and service, the foundations of Operation Smile Student Programs. The Medical Student Conference was held during the second, and final, week of the Physicians Training Program (PTP), an annual conference which brings healthcare providers from Operation Smile mission countries together to learn new surgical techniques and expand knowledge through lectures, labs, and surgical observation. Because the conference was held in conjunction with PTP, medical students were able to meet international health care providers, participate in symposiums, and observe the most up to date surgical techniques.
The conference began on June 3 with a welcome convocation at EVMS during which Dr. Michael Solhaug and Dr. Ruben Ayala, keynote speakers and Operation Smile medical volunteers, addressed the students. The students then joined the physicians participating in PTP to observe craniofacial surgeries performed by Dr. Bill Magee at Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters and EVMS. On June 4, students devoted the morning to brainstorming fundraising and outreach initiatives for their own Operation Smile clubs. In the afternoon, students met with Dr. Luis Bermudez to discuss opportunities to help Operation Smile with research collected during November 2007’s World Journey of Smiles. Students rejoined PTP participants on June 5 for a surgery symposium at Old Dominion University in the morning and then focused on plans to increase medical students’ awareness of Operation Smile in the afternoon. The last day, the medical students volunteered at Norfolk Academy for “World Tour Student Day,” a program which gives more than 300 sixth graders from Norfolk schools the opportunity to learn about Operation Smile’s international charity work and its activities in Norfolk. By guiding the middle schoolers from classroom to classroom, the medical students allowed the sixth graders to meet with various PTP participants, learn about the physicians’ home countries, and ask questions directed at the physicians and Operation Smile in general.
The successful conference provided students with the opportunity to share ideas and gain a better understanding of Operation Smile in order to foster the tools and awareness needed to build and expand clubs at their medical schools. The Operation Smile Medical Student Conference will become an annual event incorporating more and more students from medical schools across the country.
Operation Smile provides 45 Brazilian children with new smiles
An internationally supported local mission was completed this past week at Hospital Sao Vicente in Barbahla, Brazil. From May 26-June 1, volunteers from Ecuador and the United States worked alongside a Brazilian medical team to provide 80 free physical examinations and complete facial reconstructive surgeries for 45 children and young adults. Operation Smile Brazil’s National Director of Programs, Clovis Brito, took part in the successful mission and offered a description of the experience: “It has been days full of intense work. We did patient screening and set up the operating rooms on the same day to get started right way. It was also a very difficult and remote site to access, but all of the members of the team were in great spirits and gave their best!”
Successful Post-operative Program completed at Operation Smile Jordan Center
On May 11, 2008, a Post-operative Program was completed in Amman, Jordan, at the newly constructed Operation Smile Jordan Center, which opened this past March. The Center provides year-round care and consists of two administrative offices, a screening and post-op clinic, a speech therapy clinic, as well as the Roma Downey Training Center. During this program, 46 of the 50 patients requested to return for a follow-up evaluation showed and were examined by Dr. Mahmoud Bataineh, Operation Smile Jordan Medical Director, and his team. The patients, who received initial surgeries during either the June 2007 mission or November 2007’s World Journey of Smiles, were evaluated by a team of speech pathologists as well. This particular Post-op Program was designated for cleft lips only. A program for cleft palates and burns will be held in the coming weeks.
The post-op examinations were conducted with ease and efficiency due to the help offered by student volunteers and the resources provided by the new center. Operation Smile Jordan will remain busy throughout the month of June as a medical mission is set for June 12-21 in Amman. A team of volunteers from Italy, Morocco, the United Kingdom, and the United States will assist a Jordanian team of medical and non medical volunteers to provide as many surgeries as possible during the ten day mission. Operation Smile has been providing new smiles to Jordanian children since 2000 and will continue to do so for many years to come.
Operation Smile Treats 2,000th Patient During International Medical Mission to Peru
The life of seven-month-old Andre Candia from Arequipa, in southern Peru, has been changed forever thanks to the international medical mission team of Operation Smile volunteers working in Lima. Andre received surgery on Wednesday, May 28, 2008, and became the 2000th patient treated by Operation Smile in Peru. To celebrate this milestone, the volunteer medical team threw a small party for Andre the day after his surgery.
Operation Smile Joins USNS Mercy as Part of Four-Month Southeast Asia Deployment – Pacific Partnership 2008
Operation Smile is joining the United States Navy’s hospital ship, USNS Mercy, during its summer 2008 humanitarian civic assistance deployment. Operation Smile will be working side-by-side on the USNS Mercy in four countries: Philippines, Vietnam, Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea. Approximately 350 children suffering with cleft lips and cleft palates will receive free reconstructive surgery as a result of these medical missions. The USNS Mercy mission, Pacific Partnership 2008, will provide humanitarian services to five countries in Southeast Asia. Pacific Partnership 2008 brings together host nation medical personnel, partner nation military medical and construction personnel, and non-governmental organizations to provide medical, dental, construction and other services ashore and afloat.
USNS Mercy departed from San Diego, Calif., on May 1. The first mission involving Operation Smile is taking place in Cotabato, Philippines, from May 29-June 12. Nearly 50 Operation Smile volunteers, most from the Philippines, provided 100 free physical examinations at Cotabato Regional Hospital to identify surgical patients who were transported aboard the ship for surgery. The Operation Smile medical team worked with Navy medical personnel and provided 54 patients with cleft lip and cleft palate surgery.
During the mission, Captain Robert Wiley said, “For the last several months I have been wrapped up in the myriad of details necessary to get this ship here. As the work piles up, it’s easy to find one skimming over the word humanitarian when using the expression ‘humanitarian mission.’ And then the day comes along when you see a child - born with a terrible deformity – walk aboard your ship. Holding her hand is a father desperately hoping to give this child a normal life. There really is a human in humanitarian. And it is in our humanity we will find the method of our compassion for others.”
Operation Smile Chief Medical Officer Dr. Randy Sherman said, “Operation Smile is honored to participate in the 2008 USNS Mercy Pacific Partnership deployment. After introducing ourselves to the Navy in 2006 during the Mercy mission to Bangladesh, we joined its sister ship, the USNS Comfort last year, for a multi-site partnership in Latin America. Operation Smile medical volunteers from the Philippines, Vietnam, Australia, the United States and other partner countries are excited to join with the Mercy and its crew in bringing new smiles to children throughout the Pacific basin this summer.”
USNS Mercy will move on to Nha Trang, Vietnam, for the next medical mission involving Operation Smile in mid-June.
Follow the deployment and read the blog of USNS Mercy Captain Robert Wiley
5th Annual Smile Event Raises Nearly $2 Million
On May 15, more than 800 Operation Smile supporters gathered for the 5th Annual Smile Event at Skylight Studio. The event celebrated last November’s World Journey of Smiles global mission that took place simultaneously around the world and resulted in life-changing surgeries for more than 4,000 children in one week.
The gala, hosted by Smile Ambassador and "Sopranos" actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler, was made possible by In Style magazine, 10 Cane Rum, AriZona Beverage Company, Moet Hennessy, Raul Avila, and Nars. Co-chairs of the event, Vanessa and Donald Trump Jr., Andrew Tisch, Lacey Tisch-Sydney, Jennifer Marsico, and Charlotte Moss, also attended. The celebratory occasion raised nearly $2 million and included cocktails by 10 Cain and AriZona Beverage Company, dinner by celebrity chef Philippe Chow, and music by actor and DJ Nick Cannon. Smile Ambassador Mariah Carey, Nick Cannon’s new bride, attended the after-event.
The event largely honored its contributors who were instrumental in making the World Journey of Smiles a reality. During dinner, Hasbro, Inc. and Microsoft Corp. were presented awards for their invaluable support. Hasbro, Inc.'s CEO Alan Hassenfeld accepted the Corporate Humanitarian Award and Bill Veghte, Microsoft Corp's SVP of Online Services & Window Business Group, accepted the Universal Smiles Award on the company's behalf. Smile Ambassador Carmit Bachar of The Pussy Cat Dolls inducted supermodel Maggie Rizer into Operation Smile's growing list of celebrity Smile Ambassadors. Sotheby’s world renowned auctioneer, Jamie Niven, conducted a specialty live auction that raised more than $500,000. The event also commemorated the profound relationship that developed last February between Vanessa Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Jennifer Marsico and Osman Garcia, a young boy the couple met during their participation on an Operation Smile medical mission to Nicaragua. New photos were displayed of 18-month old Osman's bright new smile for the Trumps, Marsico and event attendees.
Operation Smile Jr. Smile Collection Event Helps Children Around the World
On May 22, the Jr. Smile Collection Event was held at Espace. This black-tie fund-raising event, organized by motivated teens from across Manhattan, included dinner, a runway show, silent auction, and after party. New York City business leaders, members of the fashion industry, and the philanthropically-minded elite lent their support. The evening was hosted by Amanda Cole and Leven Rambin of television’s “All My Children.” The evening’s premiere sponsors included Seth Greenberg and the team of Capitale and Espace; AriZona Beverage Company, Dylan’s Candy Bar; The Moinian Group, and Tiffany & Co. Seth Greenberg and the team of Capitale and Espace graciously donated the dinner for the evening’s event and Dylan’s Candy Bar supplied custom made candy centerpieces.
Operation Smile Conducts Inaugural Child and Family Advocate Training Program in Panama City
Operation Smile’s Child Life Specialty Council successfully conducted the inaugural Child and Family Advocate Training Program in Panama City, Panama from March 8-10. The training program was held in conjunction with the first regional Operation Smile Child and Family Advocate Conference. This training program was created by the council to augment the knowledge of Operation Smile volunteers that provide psychosocial care to our patients around the world.
The three day conference brought together 20 participants from throughout Latin America. Some topics of the Child and Family Advocate Training Program include preparing patients and their families for surgery, encouraging patients during difficult or painful procedures, providing supportive play activities for the children while in the hospital, and advocating for the rights of the child and family.
“By sharing the knowledge and experiences of our Child Life Specialists with those of the many volunteers who work in this field, we hope to boost the emotional well-being of Operation Smile patients, as well as other children treated in hospitals around the world,” said Megan Coe, Operation Smile Mission Education Coordinator.
Operation Smile Child Life Council members, Toni Crowell, Jennifer Kreimer, Morgan Livingstone, and Priti Desai, worked for several months to develop this program, creating materials and gathering resources for the participants. This program will be continued during conferences in the Central and Asia Regions later this year, to help provide psychosocial support to our patients and families in all locations around the world.
Healthcare Providers from 28 Countries Arrive in Norfolk for Operation Smile's Medical Education Conference May 26 - June 6
More than 90 healthcare providers from 28 countries traveled to Norfolk to participate in Operation Smile's annual Physicians' Training Program (PTP) from May 26-June 6. This marks the largest PTP to date.
Since 1987, this conference has been a critical component of Operation Smile's training and education initiatives. PTP, which is led by Operation Smile CEO and Co-founder Dr. Bill Magee, gives physicians from Operation Smile mission countries the opportunity to learn new surgical techniques and to expand their knowledge through lectures, lab rotations, and operation room observation. The goal of PTP is to train medical professionals to care for children in their own countries, furthering Operation Smile's mission of helping its partner countries attain self-sufficiency. The program also provides the opportunity for physicians and nurses from around the world to share valuable medical and cultural knowledge and to observe and receive training on difficult craniofacial cases. PTP includes plastic surgeons, anesthesiologists and pediatricians, dentists, and nurses. New to this year’s program is the inclusion of speech pathology participants thanks to a grant from The Boeing Company.
Part of PTP includes specialty training at Operation Smile partner institutions. From May 28-30, nurses will receive specialty training at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA. From May 29-30, speech pathologists will train at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta in Atlanta, GA; dental participants will be in Baltimore, MD at the University of Maryland Dental School; and anesthesia participants will be in Washington, D.C. at George Washington University. From May 29-31, pediatric participants will be in Philadelphia, PA at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; and plastic surgery participants will be at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.
DKNY and InStyle “Picture Yourself” Event at Saks Fifth Avenue Benefits Operation Smile
DKNY, InStyle, and Saks Fifth Avenue partnered to help Operation Smile kick off its 2008 Smile Gala, to be held in May. The “Smile Committee” for the gala hosted the April 10 cocktail party with the help of these three event sponsors. The reception, held at Saks Fifth Avenue, was to celebrate DKNY’s newest collection and the new partnership with InStyle.
Guests were invited to step into DKNY’s photo booth to have their picture taken to benefit Operation Smile. Those guests who made a purchase during the event received a DKNY picture frame for their photos taken that evening. VIP attendees at the Thursday evening reception included: DKNY CEO, Mark Weber, Saks CEO, Steve Sadove, In Style Managing Editor, Charla Lawhon and Operation Smile “Smile Committee” members and supporters: Byrdie Bell, Martin Dawson, Elizabeth Meigher, Gillian Hearst Simonds, Kipton Cronkite, Jamie Korey, Dabney Mercer, Tinsley Mercer Mortimer, Maggie Rizer, Luigi Tadini, Liz Walker, Chessy Wilson and Olivia Palermo
The partnership continued with an afternoon of shopping at Saks the following Saturday. The events raised more than $8,000 combined to benefit Operation Smile.
Operation Smile South Africa Conducts Inaugural Swaziland Medical Mission
Operation Smile South Africa conducted a successful inaugural medical mission to The Kingdom of Swaziland from March 25 – 30, 2008. Physical examinations were provided to 57 children and young adults with 31 of these patients receiving surgical treatment. Nearly half of the patients with unrepaired cleft lips and cleft palates examined in Swaziland were teenagers or older.
The mission team included more than 30 medical and non-medical volunteers from Holland, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, South Africa, and the United States, who worked along with Swazilander medical volunteers in Mbabane. Parents from throughout Swaziland brought their children to the hospital hoping that their son or daughter would receive free reconstructive surgery.
The United States Embassy in Swaziland worked closely with Operation Smile South Africa to provided assistance with introductions, logistics, follow-up meetings with in-country role players, and on the ground planning, transport, and translation.
During the medical mission, United States Ambassador Maurice S. Parker and his wife, Connie, had the opportunity to meet with the Queen Mother of Swaziland, Ntombi Tfwala. The Queen Mother thanked the United States and its people for their help given to Swaziland and expressed fascination with the work of the medical services provided by Operation Smile. The Queen Mother also stated the efforts of Operation Smile serves as a good example to the Swazi people, who should do more to assist the disabled. The Queen Mother has her own charity, Philani MaSwati, which supplies food to seniors and the physically-challenged, mainly in the rural areas.
The support of Hellmann Worldwide Logistics and South African Paper Mills, as well as the financial support of Operation Smile South Africa’s Diamond and Platinum Smile Sponsors—Amway, Citi, and Cipla Miles For Smiles—made the journey to create smiles in Swaziland possible.
Later this summer, Operation Smile South Africa will begin patient pre-screening in Swaziland to determine if there is further need for cleft lip and cleft palate repair. Coinciding with this pre-screening, Operation Smile South Africa will provide free Basic Life Support (BLS) training to doctors and nurses across Swaziland who were unable to participate in the inaugural BLS training held July 2007.
Operation Smile Celebrates National Volunteer Week
Operation Smile is proud to have one of the world’s largest volunteer networks — more than 6,000 medical and non-medical volunteers ready to share their time and talent to help children. In celebration of National Volunteer Week (April 27-May 3), Operation Smile held a Volunteer Awards Ceremony and reception at the Town Point Club in Norfolk, VA on May 1 to honor six exceptional volunteers.
Lifetime Volunteer Award: Cindi Raglin – Virginia Beach, VA
Cindi Raglin has been a volunteer on behalf of Operation Smile for more than 10 years. In that time, she has been volunteering on medical missions and at Operation Smile’s headquarters as the Nursing Specialty Coordinator. Cindi has served as a nurse and Clinical Coordinator on more than 30 Operation Smile medical missions around the world. In addition, Cindi is a member of the organization’s Nursing Council. About volunteering with Operation Smile, she said, “Since I was five years old, I knew I would be a nurse. My mother was a nurse. I’m going out and taking care of people around the world…you don’t have to speak their language. You just have to smile. When a mom comes in to the Recovery Room and you smile, and she smiles back, that’s what it’s all about.”
Lifetime Volunteer Award: Sharron Frahm – Greensboro, NC
In 1994, Sharron Frahm became active as a member of the Board of Governors for Operation Smile North Carolina, and in 1998 joined an Operation Smile medical mission team to Machala, Ecuador, serving as a medical records volunteer. Sharron also served as the North Carolina Board Chair from 2002-2005 and has chaired many fundraising committees for Operation Smile North Carolina’s galas and other events. “When Beth (Marshall, Senior Executive Advisor for Latin America) introduced me to Operation Smile years ago, I had no idea it would become so much a part of my life: to give a child what we take for granted…a smile,” Sharron said of her time spent volunteering with Operation Smile.
2007 Volunteer of the Year: Daniel Taub – Philadelphia, PA
Dr. Daniel Taub has been volunteering with Operation Smile since 1995. He participated on a medical mission to Romania in 1996 and has served as Team Leader on 11 dental missions to Vietnam, helping provide treatment and education to thousands of children. He is the Associate Director of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. About receiving the Volunteer of the Year Award, Dr. Taub said, “I’m honored to receive this award. Operation Smile has been an amazing part of my life. I’ve met some of the greatest people and built relationships with colleagues who are 10,000 miles away and those in my own back yard.”
2007 Volunteer of the Year: D. Michael Gioffre – Wilmington, DE
Dr. Michael Gioffre has participated on 10 dental missions, serving as Team Leader, in Vietnam to provide free care for children and young adults as well as provide Vietnamese dental professionals with hands-on education through lecture and clinical treatment. In addition, Dr. Gioffre has served as the team’s dentist on medical missions to Bolivia, China and the Philippines. He is also a member of the Operation Smile Dental Council. Dr. Giofree has served as Board Member for Operation Smile’s Delaware Chapter for many years, and is a dentist at First State Dental. “It has been an honor to work with this organization for the past 10 years and in many ways, it has helped define who I am and how I practice dentistry,” Dr. Gioffre said of volunteering with Operation Smile.
The Michael Reusing Award: Melissa Cole – Elgin, TX
This is the first year Operation Smile has presented this award, which is named after Melissa Cole’s husband Michael Reusing, an Operation Smile volunteer who passed away in 2007. Mike served as a medical records and electronic medical records specialist on numerous medical missions with Melissa. Since 2000, Melissa has served as a medical records specialist on Operation Smile missions to countries including Bolivia, Cambodia, Haiti, Honduras, India, Kenya and Peru. On receiving this award, Melissa said, “Whenever I’m thinking about doing something, I think about my reward. Being recognized here tonight feels like a reward, like a warm hug from family. To receive the Michael Reusing Award makes my heart explode. Mike was really a torch that ignited the people he touched.”
The Donna Poe-Davis Nursing Award for Excellence: Donna Poe-Davis – the Caribbean
Donna is the first recipient of this award, which will be presented to an Operation Smile volunteer nurse who has served on international medical missions, shown leadership and made significant contributions to Operation Smile. When Donna lived in Hampton Roads, Virginia, she was the Director of Surgical Services at The Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters and worked closely with Operation Smile Co-founder and CEO, Dr. Bill Magee. He asked her to volunteer with Operation Smile, and from 1987-2001, Donna volunteered on missions to Brazil, China, Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, the Philippines, Venezuela, and Vietnam. “The kids go beyond your heart. You can’t believe the fulfillment of a kid, who takes your hand and looks at you. He can’t say thank you in your language, but he can say it in his for a new face,” Donna said of her involvement with Operation Smile.
Comprehensive Care Center Opens in Amman, Jordan
Facilities Include the Roma Downey Training Center
Since its launch in 2004, Operation Smile Jordan announces its latest accomplishment – the opening of the first Operation Smile Comprehensive Care Center in Jordan and the Middle East.
Deputized by her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, The Minister of Social Development H.E. Ms. Hala Latouf Bseisso inaugurated the Center on March 25, 2008. Jordanian dignitaries, international guests and many Jordanian supporters attended the ceremony. The Center will provide year-round care and consists of two administrative offices, a screening and post-op clinic, a speech therapy clinic, as well as the Roma Downey Training Center.
The Training Center will provide local medical professionals with Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Basic Life Support (BLS) training in accordance with Operation Smile’s International Training Organizations accreditation with the American Heart Association (AHA). Operation Smile is the only organization authorized by the AHA to function as a global and mobile ITO.
Downey, Operation Smile spokesperson and Board of Governors member, donated all of the life support program equipment and books as well as all of the funds needed to support the training programs for one year.
Downey celebrated the occasion by attending the opening ceremony with her husband, Operation Smile supporter Mark Burnett and their children, James, Reilly and Cameron. Also attending the opening ceremony were Operation Smile co-founders, Dr. Bill Magee and Kathy Magee, and Operation Smile United Kingdom Board of Directors Chairman, Jeremy Greenhalgh and family.
In conjunction with this event a local mission took place at Jamil Al Totanji Hospital in Sahab providing 111 children and young adults with physical examinations and free surgery for 39 patients.
Oral-B Satin Floss and Samantha Harris Help Operation Smile Share the Joy of a Smile
News Correspondent and TV Host Samantha Harris has partnered with Oral-B Satin Floss to not only show people how to make their smile more brilliant, but to help Operation Smile create more smiles. The campaign encourages consumers to trade up and replace their old fashioned floss with new Oral-B Satin Floss, with a goal of 100,000 feet to be donated to Operation Smile. Additionally, Oral-B will make a monetary donation to help Operation Smile put smiles on children’s faces worldwide.
You Can Help Oral-B Make a Difference
World Journey of Smiles Photography Exhibition and Reception Benefits Operation Smile
Look At Life, a New York based art collective founded by O.A.R. bassist Benj Gershman, held a photography exhibition and reception to honor and benefit Operation Smile in New York City. The exhibition featured selected photography from 27 Operation Smile volunteer professional photographers who participated in the organization’s 25th Anniversary initiative; the World Journey of Smiles, 40 simultaneous medical missions in 25 countries worldwide, took place November 7-16, 2007.
The exhibition was on display February 26 to March 3, 2008 with an evening reception on February 28 at Splashlight, a photography services studio, which donated use of their facilities located in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen. Printing of the more than 70 images was donated by Digital Plus, a full service graphic and digital reproduction house. During the reception, the studio was packed to maximum capacity with hundreds of attendees.
Click here to see special video, hosted by Benj Gershman, about the exhibition and reception.
The photo exhibition depicted how more than 4,000 children’s lives were changed forever in a ten-day period during the World Journey of Smiles. This exhibition also showed the process of Operation Smile’s medical missions through the eyes of the photographers who donate their time, talent and resources to the charity. Gershman and Operation Smile volunteer photographer Rohanna Mertens curated the exhibit.
Gershman serves as one of Operation Smile’s Smile Ambassadors and traveled on an Operation Smile medical mission to Peru in May 2007. “Putting together the World Journey of Smiles exhibition was something very special to be able to do,” said Gershman. “I've wanted to show my appreciation for Operation Smile's work in some way for a while now. I couldn't have asked for a more appropriate and amazing occurrence to document and exhibit. So many wonderful people were a part of this global initiative—not only the children, doctors, surgeons, volunteers and personnel, but the photographers themselves.”
Look At Life was formed in 2005, and it currently hosts photography, art and writing for artists online at www.lookatlife.com.
Following are the Operation Smile volunteer professional photographers who were featured at the exhibition from the countries they documented for the World Journey of Smiles.
Bolivia (Santa Cruz)
Erin Lubin - San Francisco, California
Brazil (Fortaleza)
Will Kerner - Charlottesville, Virginia
Cambodia (Phnom Penh)
Anja Ligtenberg - Amsterdam, Netherlands
China (Linyi)
Jeff Zelevansky - Maplewood, New Jersey
Colombia (Bogotá)
Mabel Rodríguez - Coconut Grove, Florida
Ecuador (Quito)
Ken Holt - Colombia, South Carolina
Egypt (Quena)
Tyler Barrick - Flemington, New Jersey
Ethiopia (Addis Ababa)
Carl Costas - Sacramento, California
Honduras (Santa Rosa de Copan)
Justin Bowen - Alpine, Utah
India (Vijaywada)
Jasmin Shah - Chicago, Illinois
Jordan (Amman)
Jessica Lifland - San Francisco, California
Kenya (Nakuru)
Shiho Fukada - New York, New York
Laos (Pakse)
Pamela Jones - Miami Beach, Florida
Mexico (Puerto Vallarta)
Justin Appenzeller - Brooklyn, New York
Morocco (Tetouan)
Paul Fetters - Falls Church, Virginia
Nicaragua (Managua)
Vasna Wilson - San Francisco, California
Nicaragua (Managua)
Liz Brown – New York, New York
Panama (Chorrera)
Rohanna Mertens - New York, New York
Paraguay (Asuncion)
Veronica Donnelly - Virginia Beach, Virginia
Peru (Arequipa)
Diana Mulvihill - South Pasadena, California
Philippines (Makati/Naga)
Bill Harrigan - Key Largo, Florida
Russia (Taganrog)
Jamie Rector - Long Beach, California
Madagascar (Tamatave)
Scarlett Steer - Cape Town, South Africa
Thailand (Maesot)
Chet Gordon - Newburgh, New York
Vietnam (Hanoi)
Peter Stuckings - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Venezuela (Barinas)
Stephanie Oberlander - Norfolk, Virginia
China (Hangzhou), Jordan (Amman), Philippines (Naga City)
Marc Ascher - Lebanon, New Jersey
More Than 2,000 Students Run to Help Children Around the World
As part of the Shamrock Sportsfest, on March 15, more than 2,000 elementary school students from 130 schools in Virginia and the U.S. participated in the Operation Smile Final Mile to get fit and raise money for the organization. In September, students ages 7-13 participating in the Operation Smile Final Mile began running to complete 25.2 miles, in order to run their final mile on the boardwalk on March 15 for a total of 26.2 miles, the equivalent of a marathon.
Sixty elementary schools in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News, Yorktown and Williamsburg participated in the Operation Smile Final Mile program and hundreds of students collected pledges for Operation Smile, already totaling over $20,000 with more pledges rolling in every day!
One of the children who ran was Danielle Wuertz who was born in China with a cleft lip and cleft palate. The Wuertz family of Chesapeake adopted Danielle from an orphanage in China when the little girl was 3 ½ years old. Now, Danielle is 7 years old and along with her three brothers, participated in the Operation Smile Final Mile and collected pledges for Operation Smile. Danielle enjoyed running for this cause, saying, “It helps me stay healthy and I’m helping children who don’t have enough money to fix their lips.” Danielle has undergone nine surgeries at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters to repair her cleft lip and cleft palate. She is not an Operation Smile patient, but her surgeon is Dr. Richard Rosenblum, an Operation Smile medical volunteer who started his involvement with Operation Smile during his teenage years as a student volunteer.
Another runner Edelawit Shekur, a 15-year-old girl from Ethiopia, arrived in Hampton Roads to have surgery to repair her cleft lip. She was in the front of the pack of runners who started the Operation Smile Final Mile and she crossed the finish line accompanied by Ethiopian and Kenyan marathon runners. After the run, she was brought on stage and introduced to the thousands of runners. This was a great opportunity for these young students to see the impact they have had to change the life of a child living with a facial deformity. Operation Smile provided Edelawit with surgery on Tuesday, March 18 and she is now home in Ethiopia with a new smile, new friends and a stronger sense of self.
Operation Smile Student Programs would like to thank all those students who helped make a positive change in their lives as well as the life of another child through their participation in the Operation Smile Final Mile. As a special thanks to the participants, AriZona Beverage Company and SwimWays graciously showed their support by donating thousands of products that were distributed at the finish line by local Operation Smile high school volunteers. After the race, runners and their families enjoyed the local talent of Early Departure, a band comprised of students from Great Bridge High School in Chesapeake. Their upbeat and lively tunes entertained the crowd of thousands at the 31st Stage.
The Operation Smile Final Mile illustrated how the community can be united through the desire to help others through fun, fitness, and the determination to make a difference. Every runner, every volunteer, and every attendee witnessed the power that students possess to create change and impact the global community.
Operation Smile Provides Surgery to Ethiopian Teenager in Norfolk, Virginia
The life of 15-year-old Edelawit Shekur from Tifrem, in the Gurage Zone in Southern Ethiopia, has been changed forever thanks to the efforts of Operation Smile and Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters (CHKD) in Norfolk, Virginia. Edelawit received surgery on March 18, 2008 at CHKD. Operation Smile CEO and Co-founder Dr. Bill Magee and Operation Smile volunteer Dr. Richard Rosenblum performed the surgery to repair Edelawit’s cleft lip.
As a result of her facial deformity, Edelawit had difficulty speaking and was teased at school. She also started school late, so she is shy and is only in the second grade. Edelawit enjoys math, language and science, and during her physical education class, Edelawit runs with her classmates.
But things are going to change for Edelawit now that her cleft lip has been repaired, reflecting the Amharic meaning of her name, which is “the lucky one.” Edelawit said there are many children with cleft lips in her village in need of surgery.
Edelawit and her sister left their family and village in Tifrem in November 2007, to meet the mission team that was working in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during the World Journey of Smiles. They traveled five hours by bus from Addis Ababa to get to Jimma. Edelawit came looking for surgery because, “I want my face to be normal and kids tease me,” she said, “I don’t want to have problems at school.”
However, Edelawit and her sister arrived too late, getting to Jimma on the last day of surgery. While she did get a free physical examination, Edelawit did not get surgery and their plan was to stay in Jimma until the next Operation Smile mission to Ethiopia. However, the next mission to Ethiopia isn’t scheduled to take place until December 2008.
That late arrival was part of the reason Edelawit was brought to Norfolk. The timing of Edelawit’s trip to Hampton Roads coincides with the Operation Smile Final Mile which took place on Saturday, March 15, as part of the Shamrock Sportsfest. There were also several Ethiopian and Kenyan runners taking part in the event’s marathon.
For the Operation Smile Final Mile, more than 2,000 elementary school students ran 25.2 miles over the course of several months in order to run their final mile on March 15 for a total of 26.2 miles, the equivalent of a marathon. The Operation Smile Final Mile program is a way for children to get fit and raise money for children around the world suffering with facial deformities. Edelawit ran the final mile with those students and with the marathon runners from Ethiopia and Kenya.
On the day of the Final Mile, a young boy approached Samson Tesfaye, Edelawit’s traveling chaperone and Operation Smile Ethiopia Country Manager. He wanted Samson to give Edelawit a message for him: “Tell her I am running for her.”
Edelawit and Samson are being hosted by the Budorick family of Virginia Beach for approximately one week, before returning home to Ethiopia. Virginia Beach is a big change from her home in Tifrem, a rural environment without electricity or water.
“The plane ride and all the cars here are very exciting,” Edelawit said, “It’s not like it is back home.”
Despite her shyness, Edelawit is getting along very well with the family, which includes three daughters. The girls enjoy jumping rope together and playing soccer.
Now that her lip has been repaired, Edelawit can look forward to returning to her mother and home. Edelawit hasn’t seen her since that initial trip to Addis Ababa in November.
“I want to go back to school, and help my mother. I miss my family,” Edelawit said. “And I want to be a doctor when I grow up,”
Operation Smile holds inaugural mission in Haiti
An Operation Smile team of volunteers worked in the city of Hinche to change the lives of children from throughout Haiti. The mission team, including more than 30 medical and non-medical volunteers from Brazil, Canada, Colombia and the United States, along with local Haitian medical volunteers at Saint Theresa Hospital, provided 91 patients with physical examinations and provided new smiles to 64 patients.
A plastic surgeon, anesthesiologists, nurses, a pediatrician, a pediatric intensivist, clinical coordinator, child life therapist and others worked together, providing free physical examinations and free reconstructive surgeries to children and young adults.
This was Operation Smile’s first medical mission in the country of Haiti as part of a collaboration with Partners In Health, a non-profit corporation active in the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa, Russia, and the United States, that provides a preferential option for the poor in health care.
Working in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Population (MSPP) in Haiti, Partners In Health provides comprehensive community-based primary care services and treatment for HIV and tuberculosis at nine sites in the Central Plateau and Artibonite.
“I think this collaboration represents a great success story of how a community-based health organization, such as PIH, and a mission-specific tertiary health surgical services organization, such as Operation Smile, can join forces and truly provide higher quality and more integrative care for the patients we serve,” Ellen Agler, Vice President, Latin America and Caribbean Region, said of the mission.
During this medical mission, Operation Smile also conducted a series of medical education and training programs for more than 60 Haitian medical professionals. In advance of the training, local medical staff and nurses from the National Nursing School in Port-au-Prince had been identified for the training by Partners In Health. Partners in Health provided Operation Smile with its educational facility, located on the hospital campus, to host the education programs.
On March 1-2, Operation Smile conducted a Basic Life Support (BLS) training course for approximately 30 Haitian nurses. Operation Smile is the only organization authorized by the American Heart Association to function as a global and mobile International Training Organization (ITO), allowing us to develop training networks and provide PALS, ACLS and BLS certification to medical professionals around the world. This program is a part of Operation Smile’s training and education programs.
In addition, Operation Smile medical volunteer Dominique DeClerk conducted a Critical Nursing Skills Training Program on March 3 to teach approximately 30 Haitian nurses the critical skills needed for treating children who receive cleft lip and cleft palate reconstructive surgery, focusing on the stages of treatment including pre- and post-operative care, and operating room and recovery room nursing.
Then on March 5, Operation Smile conducted a medical education conference. Operation Smile Senior Manager of Education Dr. Luis Bermudez lectured on cleft lips and cleft palates, Operation Smile medical volunteer Dr. Selwyn Rogers gave a presentation titled “Burn Injury,” and Operation Smile volunteer Jeri Hinds, R.N., lectured on burn care.
Operation Smile is looking forward to a long-term relationship with PIH to help address the needs of people living with clefts in Haiti, and to also provide support services and education programs to help improve the quality of and access to surgical care throughout the Central Plateau.
Windows Live $500,000 Donation Commemorates Operation Smile’s 25th Anniversary
On March 10, 2008, Operation Smile announced that Microsoft Corp. donated $500,000 to the organization as part of a ‘sharing smiles’ campaign from Windows Live. The funds will be used to provide free physical examinations and surgical treatment to children in 2008.
“Windows Live is proud to join with Operation Smile in its pursuit to change children’s lives, one smile at a time,” said Chris Jones, corporate vice president of Windows Live Experience Program Management at Microsoft.
The donation culminates a two-month campaign that encouraged Windows Live customers to share photos of their smiles with people around the world showing their support for Operation Smile. The donation from the Windows Live campaign will help enable Operation Smile to provide thousands of free surgical treatments to children during the upcoming year.
“This donation and partnership are a great way to culminate our 25th Anniversary and the World Journey of Smiles,” said Dr. Bill Magee, Operation Smile CEO and Co-founder. “This alliance with Windows Live demonstrates that a smile is a universal language, and this donation will help us bring new smiles to children in need.”
The partnership between Microsoft and Operation Smile was kicked off on November 6, 2007, to commemorate the organization’s 25th Anniversary and to celebrate the launch of Windows Live (www.windowslive.com), a set of free online services designed to help people communicate and share with the important people in their lives from anywhere they have Web access across multiple devices.
Last year, Microsoft invited its Windows Live community of users, which was over 400 million strong, to upload pictures of their smiles. Each photograph was eligible to be featured on the website, and the more photos of smiling people shared using Windows Live, the more money Microsoft would donate to Operation Smile.
Operation Smile celebrated its 25th Anniversary with the World Journey of Smiles (WJOS), simultaneous medical missions to 40 sites in 25 countries worldwide. From November 7-16, 2007, free physical examinations were provided to 7,414 patients and 4,086 children born with cleft lips and cleft palates received free surgical treatment during the WJOS. The initiative mobilized more than 700 volunteers from the United Sates and more than 1,000 volunteers from 43 other countries working in 40 hospitals, care centers and clinics in 25 countries in Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.
Co-founders Receive "First Citizen Award"
At a gala on Saturday, March 1, the Cosmopolitan Club of Norfolk (Virginia) will be awarding the Cosmopolitan Distinguished Service Award medal to Norfolk's First Citizens for 2007, Dr. Bill and Kathy Magee, Co-founders of Operation Smile. The Magees are the 80th recipients of the Norfolk's First Citizen award.
After nominations are submitted by the general public, the First Citizens are selected each year by a group of non-Cosmopolitan group of Norfolk citizens. This has been an annual event since its inception in 1928.
Volunteer Opportunity: Operation Smile Charity Hospital Opens in Hangzhou, China
International Medical Volunteers Needed
On November 9, 2007, Operation Smile China Medical Mission marked the official opening of the Operation Smile Charity Hospital in Hangzhou, China. Operation Smile Co-founders Dr. Bill and Kathy Magee, Operation Smile Board of Directors Chairman Howard Unger and Operation Smile Regional Vice President for Asia Richard Vander Burg, and government and ministry officials attended the opening ceremony. The Operation Smile Charity Hospital will provide year-round comprehensive care for cleft lip and cleft palate patients and serves as a medical education training center for Chinese healthcare professionals. Operation Smile Charity Hospital, the first facility of its kind in China, is outfitted with three operating rooms, pre- and post-operative wards, state-of-the-art medical equipment, dental facility, speech pathology laboratory, closed-circuit video teaching capabilities and a conference center. The opening of this hospital is a milestone in Operation Smile’s commitment to the children of China. The first medical mission conducted in the hospital took place during Operation Smile’s World Journey of Smiles from November 7-16. Medical volunteers provided 71 children with free reconstructive surgery and 99 with free medical evaluations. The hospital is expected to treat 5,000 children annually.
International medical volunteers are needed to provide treatment for children in this center. Operation Smile is currently recruiting volunteer plastic surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses to work alongside teams of Chinese volunteers for two to three week periods. Positions are limited, and the teams will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
For more information about volunteering at the Operation Smile Charity Hospital in Hangzhou, China, please click here.
Ten Operation Smile volunteers receive President's Service Award from Youth Matter America
On Monday, Jan. 21, 2008, 10 Operation Smile volunteers received the President's Service Award during the seventh annual Martin Luther King Jr. Youth Oratorical Competition and Community Service Awards, hosted by Youth Matter America. This year's event was held at Mount Sinai Church in Portsmouth, VA.
Alexander Atkins, Barron Frazier, Courtney Killough, Gabrielle McDonald, Tamika Mills, Eliza Peak, Lauren Perlman, James R. and Beverly J. Weber, and Jemma Wolfe received the President’s Volunteer Service Awards based on their service to Operation Smile over a 12 month period. The President’s Volunteer Service Challenge is a White House initiative that recognizes Americans with awards for outstanding community service, while encouraging more people to serve.
The annual Martin Luther King Jr. Youth Oratorical Competition and Community Service Awards program is designed to give students an idea of the value of public speaking and build self-esteem. Students from middle and high schools competed for awards of savings bonds and other gifts. Contestants prepared a five minute speech with an influence from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous speeches. There were also other entertainment from students in the areas of dance, song, poetry, and instrumental music. A gospel performance was also given.
Photographers Join Together to Give Children New Smiles
During October 2007, participating member studios of Professional Photographers of America (PPA) from across the country joined together for “Family Portrait Month,” a national fund-raising effort to benefit Operation Smile. On January 5, during the Professional Photographers of America Imaging USA 2008 convention in Tampa, Fl., PPA Charities presented a $52,000 check to Carl Treleaven, Operation Smile Board of Directors Treasurer. This was the third year this campaign took place and this year’s donation to Operation Smile was the highest to date.
World Journey of Smiles Treats More than 4,000 Children Across the Globe
Operation Smile’s year-long anniversary celebration culminated in November 2007, with the World Journey of Smiles (WJOS), 40 simultaneous missions in 25 countries. WJOS took place November 7-16, 2007 and was the largest simultaneous medical mission of its kind. Free physical examinations were provided to 7,414 patients and 4,082 children born with cleft lips and cleft palates were provided free surgical treatment. The initiative mobilized more than 1,700 volunteers from 44 countries – more than 700 volunteers were from the United States and more than 1,000 volunteers were from 43 other countries. These volunteers worked together in 40 hospitals, care centers and clinics in 25 countries in Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.
Twenty-five years after Operation Smile was founded, WJOS started in the Philippines, the country and hospital where it first began. On November 7, in Naga City at Bicol Medical Center, Operation Smile CEO and Co-founder Dr. Bill Magee performed the first surgery. More countries began their medical missions and soon, 40 sites were simultaneously providing free treatment. Dignitaries, Operation Smile corporate supporters and celebrities visited some of these sites. These guests and Operation Smile’s volunteers all came together with a shared passion for helping children.
Operation Smile’s mission in Amman, Jordan, treated Jordanian, Iraqi and Palestinian children. Her Excellency Queen Rania of Jordan came to show her support and spoke to volunteers, patients and families. A medical mission coordinated by Operation Smile South Africa took place for the first time in Madagascar. Operation Smile Italy Chairman of the Board Santo Versace and Operation Smile U.K. Chairman of the Board Jeremy Greenhalgh traveled to mission sites with the Magees to Morocco, Jordan and Ethiopia. The group met with the President of Ethiopia Girma Wolde-Giorgis.
Smile Ambassador Carmit Bachar of the Pussycat Dolls participated in the medical mission in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. During patient screenings, Carmit and her team organized stations for the children with face and body painting, bookmaking and crafts. There was also music and dancing for the children which they enjoyed. Actors and Smile Ambassadors Roselyn Sanchez and Eric Winter volunteered during Operation Smile’s medical mission in Managua, Nicaragua, where they helped Operation Smile volunteers screen nearly 250 children, talked to children and their families and played with the children while they waited for surgery. “Being a part of Operation Smile during their World Journey of Smiles was a surreal experience. To been able to see all of those children and their families with their faces filled with hope for a better future was incredible. We learned a lot, helped and understood the value of a smile and the real meaning of a helping hand,” said Roselyn Sanchez. While in Ecuador for the final day of the WJOS, the Magees met with the country’s Vice President Even Lenin Moreno Garces.
Operation Smile supporter David Wolfe volunteered on the mission in Casablanca, Morocco. He recounted, “One evening, the mission team was invited for a wonderful dinner at the local Sofitel. I had arrived early, and the Restaurant manager came up to me and told me that they had a young man working at the hotel who had a cleft lip. I mentioned it to Abdou, Operation Smile Morocco’s Executive Director, and thought nothing of it until three days later when I saw the boy in post-op. I kept wondering that if I was experiencing these random acts of extraordinary kindness, how many were occurring that I was not witnessing – not just in Morocco, but everywhere throughout the World Journey of Smiles.
Operation Smile focused its 25th Anniversary on sustainability, with a goal of increasing the number of children served annually through establishment of regional centers of care. While Dr. Bill and Kathy Magee were in the Philippines, they participated in a meeting in Makati City with Mayor Jejomar Binay, which led to an agreement between Makati City (part of Manila) and Operation Smile Philippines to establish an Operation Smile Center in one of the Makati Hospitals. Two additional Centers will be established in the Philippines, one in Cebu City in partnership with the Mariquita Salimbangon-Yeung Foundation and one in Davao City in partnership with Brokenshire Memorial Hospital there. During WJOS, a new Operation Smile Comprehensive Care Center was opened in Hangzhou, China, and is expected to treat 5,000 children annually. Medical missions also took place in Operation Smile Comprehensive Care Centers in Vietnam and Colombia. There are also Comprehensive Care Centers under construction in Fortaleza, Brazil, and Casablanca, Morocco.
Medical volunteers submitted their thoughts to Operation Smile’s WJOS website, which was updated daily. Operation Smile nurse volunteer Cindi Raglin from Virginia served as Clinical Coordinator in Kolkata, India, and said, “Just as a pebble in tossed into the water creates circles from the center so do our lives create the same impact in the world. As one, we touch another person, a family, a community, a country…one smile, one life, one hope for love, for understanding…for world peace. Thank you Operation Smile, thank you Team Kolkata for allowing me to be a part of such a wonderful endeavor. Because of you, I am a better person.” Operation Smile nurse volunteer Quinn Sharkey from Sitka, Alaska, recalls a patient she met during her mission in Managua, Nicaragua, saying, “The boy was terrified and at first was very agitated but the Anesthesiologist and myself calmed him down and eventually got him to lie down. He grabbed my hand and I held his hand and re-assured him in what must of been the most horrible Spanish he had ever heard. He looked at me and smiled. His IV was started without so much as a flinch and he went off to sleep. The surgeon then repaired his cleft lip. It showed me that caring for another person crosses all language and cultural barriers. My trip to Nicaragua with Operation Smile has been the highlight of my Nursing career.”
Operation Smile also conducted a research project during WJOS, in partnership with Yale University, to study the genetic causes of cleft lip and cleft palate. Research data and DNA samples were collected in more than half of the 25 participating countries to be analyzed and screened with the hope of identifying the genetic markers that differentiate the population of people with cleft lip and cleft palate with the hope of finding a causal link.
“We want to thank each of our volunteers for making this incredible journey possible,” said Kathy Magee. “World Journey of Smiles was not simply a celebration of 25 years of accomplishment. It was the first step in our next journey together as an organization to build the infrastructure that will support children in need year-round.”
Operation Smile thanks its 25th Anniversary Corporate Smile Ambassadors who have each pledged or raised $100,000 in support of the 25th Anniversary: Abbott Fund; AriZona Beverage Co.;
The Atlantic Philanthropies; Becton, Dickinson and Company; Cardinal Health Foundation; Citigroup Foundation; CONMED Corporation; Datascope; ETHICON, Inc.; Financial Times; Hasbro Children’s Fund; Johnson & Johnson; King Systems Corporation; Lladró; Mallinckrodt, Inc.; McNeil Consumer Products and Specialty Pharmaceuticals; Molnlycke Health Care; Stryker; and SwimWays.
In addition to the corporate supporters, Operation Smile also recognizes with appreciation its 25th Anniversary Celebrity Smile Ambassadors who join Jessica Simpson, Operation Smile’s International Youth Ambassador, in support of the organization. 25th Anniversary Smile Ambassadors include: Carmit Bachar, Mark Burnett, Billy Bush, Mariah Carey, Justin Chatwin, Oscar D’León, Roma Downey, Melanie Dunea, Benj Gershman, Dhani Jones, Nigel Parry, Molly Sims, Vanessa and Donald Trump Jr., Roselyn Sanchez and Eric Winter.
For more, visit www.worldjourneyofsmiles.org
Abreva's “Kiss it Forward” Valentine's Day Campaign Benefits Operation Smile
Abreva®, a cold sore medicine, is teaming up with consumers to spread the love by sending virtual kisses to benefit a good cause. Abreva will donate $1 to Operation Smile for each of the first 30,000 virtual kisses delivered through February 29. A “Smacker Tracker” at www.abreva.com will allow consumers to search for their own names and monitor the online kissing activity.
How it works:
• Online – For the month of February, simply visit www.abreva.com and click on the “Kiss Insurance” button and check out the "Smacker Tracker."
• Text messaging – Starting January 15 through the end of February, text the word “KISS” to 8KISS to download a mobile kiss that you can then forward to your Valentine.
Operation Smile Board of Directors Member Donald Trump Jr. Rings NASDAQ Stock Market Closing Bell
Donald Trump Jr., Operation Smile Board of Directors Member, and his wife Vanessa, presided over the Market Close on Friday, January 11, 2008 at NASDAQ's MarketSite in the heart of New York's Times Square. The Trumps have been supporters of Operation Smile since 2002.
And an Operation Smile public service announcement was played on the MarketSite Tower, a high-tech electronic display that wraps around the cylindrical NASDAQ building, providing up-to-the-minute financial news, market highlights, and advertisements.
NASDAQ is the largest U.S. electronic stock market. With approximately 3,200 companies, it lists more companies and, on average, trades more shares per day than any other U.S. market. It is home to companies that are leaders across all areas of business, including technology, retail, communications, financial services, transportation, media and biotechnology. NASDAQ is the primary market for trading NASDAQ-listed stocks.
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