Operation Smile Volunteers with Patient during Surgical Mission in India – 2019
We work with an extensive network of volunteers, local health care providers and ministries of health to not only treat patients with cleft conditions but also raise the standard of health care around the world.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (PRWEB)
April 21, 2022
April is National Volunteer Month. This is a time to recognize the importance of volunteering and celebrate the significant contributions volunteers make by donating their time and skills to worthy causes. As one of the world’s largest medical volunteer-based nonprofits, Operation Smile relies on the generosity of volunteers to provide life-changing surgery and comprehensive care to children with cleft conditions in low- and middle-income countries. From students raising funds at a marathon event to nurses and surgeons taking time away from their busy practices to provide medical care to children all over the world, volunteers are the life force of Operation Smile, and it is imperative that they receive the acknowledgment and praise they deserve.
Operation Smile provides a plethora of ways for individuals to get involved and volunteer with the organization. Recently, Operation Smile sponsored the “Final Mile” at the Yuengling Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where longtime supporters showed up to raise funds and participate in the race. One such supporter, Nashville native Cody Smith who was born with a cleft condition, has traveled to Virginia Beach each of the past 15 years to support Operation Smile with his family.
Cody’s mom Jamie Smith comments on how impactful the organization has been on Cody and the whole family: “The thought of our son, who was born helpless and innocent, having predetermined struggles set in his path, brought us to a level of strength we constantly pull from. We come to the Shamrock Marathon with our hearts full of love to raise money, which is meant to prove to others that they are not alone. There is power in all of us who show the love for others and allow them to know they are special.”
Operation Smile relies heavily on the generosity of medical volunteers to provide life-changing cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries and long-term comprehensive care. Through its surgical programs, nurses, doctors, speech therapists, and various health care professionals leave their day-to-day practices and offer their time and skills to patients with cleft conditions in developing countries.
Mamta Shah, a registered nurse in the Denver, Colorado, area has been volunteering with Operation Smile for over two decades and is headed to Guatemala to serve on a surgical program trip this month. When asked why she enjoys working with Operation Smile, Mamta expressed: “Operation Smile fosters a thriving educational platform to offer opportunities for nurses, anesthesiologists, and surgeons in several countries. Career paths are expanded. Operation Smile makes a gigantic contribution to the global economy by building a more cohesive, safer, and stronger community.”
Operation Smile not only provides care for patients with cleft conditions around the world but also brings together a community of individuals born with cleft conditions in the United States. The nonprofit also connects medical professionals from different specialties and builds a network of enthusiastic volunteers from all over the world.
With the help and guidance of Operation Smile’s development directors, the organization can build relationships with more enthusiastic volunteers and donors. Amber Leonti is the Director of U.S. Development Officers and the West Coast Development Director for Operation Smile and has volunteered on medical missions to Ghana, the Dominican Republic and Mexico. Amber resides in Sacramento, California but oversees a seven-state region in the western United States. When asked what excited her about working with Operation Smile, Amber remarked: “I love to think about Operation Smile’s humble beginnings as a family-founded organization to 40 years later working in over 30 countries and providing life-changing care to over 326,000 patients. We work with an extensive network of volunteers, local health care providers and ministries of health to not only treat patients with cleft conditions but also raise the standard of health care around the world.”
Michelle Joyner, Operation Smile’s senior volunteer services coordinator, has cultivated longstanding and meaningful relationships with the organization’s volunteers since 2013. She said that she’s grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with people who are making a lasting impact around the world. Michelle added: “Most of us have encountered at least one person who changed our life through their words or actions. For Operation Smile, our patients and their families, these humble and brave volunteers give the most important of life’s commodities: their time. Our volunteers change lives forever and, in so doing, have their lives forever changed in return.”
About Operation Smile
Operation Smile is a global nonprofit specializing in expert cleft surgery and care. Over the last 40 years, we have provided medical expertise, research, and care through our dedicated staff and medical and student volunteers around the world, working alongside local governments, nonprofits, and health systems, and supported by our generous donors. Learn more at https://www.operationsmile.org/ or by following @operationsmile on social media.
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