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May. 7 DKNY and InStyle “Picture Yourself” Event at Saks Fifth Avenue Benefits Operation Smile
May. 6 Operation Smile South Africa Conducts Inaugural Swaziland Medical Mission May. 1 Operation Smile Celebrates National Volunteer Week Apr. 30 Comprehensive Care Center Opens in Amman, Jordan Apr. 23 Oral-B Satin Floss and Samantha Harris Help Operation Smile Share the Joy of a Smile Apr. 11 World Journey of Smiles Photography Exhibition and Reception Benefits Operation Smile Mar. 25 More Than 2,000 Students Run to Help Children Around the World Mar. 20 Operation Smile Provides Surgery to Ethiopian Teenager in Norfolk, Virginia Mar. 20 Operation Smile holds inaugural mission in Haiti Mar. 10 Windows Live $500,000 Donation Commemorates Operation Smile’s 25th Anniversary Feb. 27 Co-founders Receive "First Citizen Award" Feb. 6 Volunteer Opportunity: Operation Smile Charity Hospital Opens in Hangzhou, China Feb. 5 Ten Operation Smile volunteers receive President's Service Award from Youth Matter America Jan. 21 Photographers Join Together to Give Children New Smiles Jan. 18 World Journey of Smiles Treats More than 4,000 Children Across the Globe Jan. 16 Abreva's “Kiss it Forward” Valentine's Day Campaign Benefits Operation Smile Jan. 11 Operation Smile Board of Directors Member Donald Trump Jr. Rings NASDAQ Stock Market Closing Bell DKNY and InStyle “Picture Yourself” Event at Saks Fifth Avenue Benefits Operation SmileDKNY, 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 MissionOperation 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 WeekOperation 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, JordanFacilities 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 Click to Pledge and Make a DifferenceWorld Journey of Smiles Photography Exhibition and Reception Benefits Operation SmileLook 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 WorldAs 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, VirginiaThe 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 HaitiAn 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 AnniversaryOn 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, ChinaInternational 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 AmericaOn 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.
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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 SmilesDuring 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 GlobeOperation 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 SmileAbreva®, 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 BellDonald 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. Click here to see archived 2007 News Click here to see archived 2006 News Click here to see archived 2005 News |
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