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History
History
Our Past Paves the Way to a Brighter Future
In 1982, Operation Smile was founded by Dr. William Magee Jr., a plastic surgeon, and his wife, Kathleen, a nurse and clinical social worker. Since then, Operation Smile has provided more than 200,000 free surgeries for children with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities. Today, we're making safe, effective surgery the global standard in healing children's smiles and transforming their lives.
1982 - 1986
Our beginning
Learn how the healing started
1982
Dr. William Magee and Kathy Magee, his wife, traveled to the Philippines with a group of medical volunteers to repair children's cleft lips and cleft palates.
1982
In 1982, Dr. Bill Magee and Kathy Magee, his wife, traveled to the Philippines with a group of medical volunteers to repair children's cleft lips and cleft palates. They discovered hundreds of children ravaged by deformities, and although they helped many children, the volunteers were forced to turn away the majority of those who sought help. The Magees saw the need and Operation Smile was born.
1985
In 1985, The World Care Program begins with its first patient from the Philippines. Also, our Student Program launches when founders Bill and Kathy's daughter, Brigette Magee, and friends Danny Rosin and Charlie Kollmansperger started the first Happy Club at Norfolk Academy in Virginia.
1986
In 1986, the same year we started our first chapter in Washington, D.C., we had the distinct honor of receiving a letter of commendation from Mother Teresa.
1987 - 1990
Growth
Operation Smile is spreading smiles worldwide.
1987
In 1987, The Physicians' Training Program is launched in Norfolk, with participating physicians from Operation Smile mission countries. With the formation of our first Board of Directors, Operation Smile takes a major step in establishing global standards of care and education.
1989
Following our inaugural mission to Colombia in 1988, our first medical missions to Vietnam and Ghana took place in 1989. John Connor, a Vietnam War Veteran and friend of co-founder, Dr. Bill Magee, initiated the Vietnam mission, which first traveled to Hanoi and treated 100 Vietnamese children suffering from childhood facial deformities.
1990
Operation Smile's first International Student Leadership Conference began in Norfolk, VA, and attracted 40 students. That same year, Operation Smile received the President's Volunteer Action Award from President George H. W. Bush.
1991 - 1996
More smiles, more places
Operation Smile is spreading smiles worldwide
1991
The same year that Operation Smile was featured in PEOPLE magazine’s issue of “Amazing Americans,” we launched our first medical missions to heal children in China, Panama, and Romania.
1994
As our chapters continued to grow and more children received the life-changing surgery they needed, Operation Smile's first Chapter Conference was held in Virginia Beach, VA.
1996
Over the previous three years, Operation Smile conducted its first missions in Gaza/West Bank, Nicaragua, Russia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. In 1996, Operation Smile receives the first Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize.
1997 - 1999
Our world journey
Transforming more lives across the globe
1997
On its annual mission to the Philippines, Operation Smile conducts its largest medical mission to date treating 1,122 patients.
1998
As Operation Smile launched its first mission to Morocco, we established our World Headquarters in a 60,000-square-foot warehouse and office facility at 6435 Tidewater Drive in Norfolk.
1999
During World Journey of Hope '99, a team of volunteers had an audience with His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, who met with them and acknowledged Operation Smile's efforts to help children around the world. World Journey of Hope, our largest medical mission, traveled to 18 countries in nine weeks, providing free reconstructive surgeries for 5,300 children.
2000 - 2003
Breaking records and new ground
As Operation Smile grows, so do our life-changing achievements
2000
As Operation Smile Italy was founded and we launched our first mission to Jordan, we were also featured in the Guinness Book of World Records 2000 Millennium Edition for traveling to 18 countries and healing 5,300 children during our nine-week World Journey of Hope.
2002
In the same year Operation Smile U.K. was founded, Operation Smile and the American Heart Association launched their collaboration to teach Pediatric Life Support (PALS).
2003
Operation Smile Vietnam completed the first-ever medical mission conducted independently by a partner country in a neighboring country, treating 47 children in Laos and training Laotian physicians and nurses in a formal cleft surgery conference.
2004 - 2006
Breaking new ground
Our commitment to helping children grows
2004
Operation Smile Ireland was founded and the first ever World Care patient from Iraq, Eman, receive the first of several surgeries at The Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters in Virginia.
2005
As we launched our first missions to Ethiopia and Paraguay, Operation Smile was approved as an International Training Organization of the American Heart Association.
2006
Our first Global Standards meeting began establishing an international standard of care for all Operation Smile programs. Jessica Simpson also joined an Operation Smile delegation, briefing Congressional members and staff on Capitol Hill. Operation Smile Honduras opened its cleft lip and cleft palate clinic to begin providing continuing comprehensive care.
2007 - 2009
Our milestone, our future
We celebrated 25 years, what will we accomplish next?
2007
Operation Smile commemorated its 25th anniversary with a year-long, multifaceted series of initiatives to promote sustainability among our partner countries. The anniversary celebration culminated in November with the World Journey of Smiles: 40 simultaneous missions in 25 countries, which provided new smiles and new lives for 4,086 children living with facial deformities. Also, our 2007 annual Physicians' Training Program, the largest to date, included nursing and dental training.
2008
More than 350 students from 18 countries participate in Operation Smile’s International Student Leadership Conference at San Diego State University in California. This same year, over 2,000 elementary school students from 130 schools raise awareness and funds as they run the Operation Smile Final Mile in Virginia.
2009
Over 200 of Operation Smile’s leaders from 33 countries gathered for a organization-wide World Summit built around the theme “Building on the past. Preparing for the future.” U.S. News & World Report also honored Bill and Kathy Magee as two of “America’s Best Leaders.”
Tomorrow
Tomorrow
Operation Smile is proud of its history and excited about the future. For more than a quarter of a century, we have been improving equipment, education, infrastructure and relationships around the world to ensure better health care for children.
2011
Operation Smile is proud of its history and excited about the future. For more than a quarter of a century, we have been improving equipment, education, infrastructure and relationships around the world to ensure better health care for children. We've seen change happen and envision more change ahead. And that makes us smile. See where we're headed next on our mission schedule.
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