Operation Smile: Winning Honors Among Non-Profit Charities

When plastic surgeon Dr. Bill Magee and his wife Kathy began Operation Smile in 1982, they knew they were doing a wonderful service but didn’t realize that the organization would become one of the most well received non-profit charities world-wide. Funded by tax-deductible donations, the Operation Smile team of volunteer medical professionals travels the globe to repair children’s cleft lip and cleft palate facial deformities. These average 45-minute operations give children a sense of dignity and a chance at a future free of abandonment and ostracism.

In 1996, Operation Smile was selected among non-profit charities as the winner of the first $1 Million Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize. Those who supported Operation Smile with tax-deductible donations applauded once again in 1999 when the organization was selected among hundreds of non-profit charities for the Kellog’s Hannah Neil World of Children Award. In 1999, the organization raised enough tax-deductible donations to fund the World Journey of Hope, when surgeons repaired the facial cleft deformities of more than 5,000 children in 19 countries in 9 weeks.

With so many wonderful non-profit charities to support with tax-deductible donations, it can be difficult to choose one to put your heart behind. When you choose to support Operation Smile, you can see the result of your tax-deductible donations through the smile on a child’s face. For children with this devastating deformity, a smile will be something that will enhance their entire life and fill them with renewed hope.

Link to Operation Smile!