For International Youth Day (Aug. 12), Operation Smile Announces Names of Students Who Will Participate in World Journey of Smiles

On August 12, the United Nations commemorates the 9th annual International Day of Youth.  Established in 1999, International Youth Day was launched to further the goals of the World Programme of Action for Youth which promotes opportunities for young people to engage in social, political, development and environmental activities worldwide.
To mark this day, Operation Smile announced the team of students selected to take part in its 25th Anniversary World Journey of Smiles (WJOS), a simultaneous medical mission to 40 sites in 25 countries to treat children born with cleft lips and cleft palates taking place November 8-16, 2007, treating an estimated 5,000 children. 

Operation Smile was launched 25 years ago by Dr. Bill Magee, a plastic surgeon and his wife Kathy Magee, a former nurse and clinical social worker, to help children born with devastating facial deformities.  To date, the organization has provided free surgeries that have changed the lives of more than 100,000 children around the globe.  In addition to contributing free medical treatment for children born with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities, Operation Smile trains local medical professionals in its 25 partner countries and leaves behind crucial equipment to lay the groundwork for long-term self-sufficiency.  

For each international mission, two high school students are selected to accompany the medical mission team as student educators.  They present basic healthcare presentations on topics such as dental hygiene, burn care, nutrition, and oral rehydration to children and parents.  Student volunteers are trained at bi-annual Operation Smile Mission Training Workshops to prepare them to serve on a mission.  Youth volunteers have played an instrumental role in Operation Smile’s success since Brigette Magee, the 13-year-old daughter of the Co-founders, accompanied her parents on a mission to the Philippines as the first student volunteer.

Today, Operation Smile Student Associations encompass thousands of students based in more than 450 schools across the United States and around the world, including Honduras, Kenya, Morocco and Vietnam. Since its inception, Operation Smile’s Student Program has expanded to elementary, middle and high schools, universities, and medical schools. Through their school- and community-based fund-raising, student volunteers raise an estimated $1 million annually for Operation Smile.  To be a volunteer on a medical mission, a high school student must be involved in an Operation Smile Student Association, have attended an Operation Smile International Student Leadership Conference, completed the Mission Training Workshop and be 16 years of age at the time of the mission.  

The 39 high school students selected to participate in World Journey of Smiles will travel to their respective sites with a volunteer medical team that will provide free medical evaluations on November 8 & 9, 2007.  On Monday, November 12, 2007, around the world at 7:30am local time, Operation Smile medical volunteers will begin surgeries.  During this period, the student volunteers will play with children, comfort patients before and after surgery, and will conduct health care presentations for parents and families of patients.

“After taking our own daughter on the very first mission, we felt it was important to involve youth.  These students are our future and the children we’re helping around the world are our future, so we wanted to bring them together,” said Operation Smile Co-founder and President Kathy Magee.  “The spirit of caring and sharing that is fostered by these young student ambassadors is a special gift they carry with them throughout their lifetime.”

Lauren Perlman, a 16-year-old from Virginia Beach, Virginia, learned about Operation Smile at an early age and joined the Operation Smile Student Association at her high school as a freshman.  Lauren will be traveling to Asuncion, Paraguay, during the World Journey of Smiles and said, “My passion in life is bringing smiles to the faces of people I meet, and hopefully, changing a life for the better.  I think my mission to Parguay will be an eye opening experience that will heighten my appreciation for the life I live.”  While participating in Operation Smile’s July Mission Training Workshop and International Student Leadership Conference in Ireland, she became friends with several students from Paraguay and said, “One of the great aspects about Operation Smile is finding yourself connected to youth from all over the world who are just as equally passionate about social justice and equality.  The bonds and friendships that I’ve made are genuine and special.” 

About Operation Smile (www.operationsmile.org)
Founded in 1982, Operation Smile, headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, is a worldwide children’s medical charity whose network of global volunteers are dedicated to helping improve the health and lives of children and young adults.  Since its founding, Operation Smile has treated more than 100,000 children born with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities. In addition to contributing free medical treatment, Operation Smile trains local medical professionals in its 25 partner countries and leaves behind crucial equipment to lay the groundwork for long-term self-sufficiency.  Operation Smile commemorates its 25th Anniversary with a year-long, multi-faceted series of initiatives to promote sustainability and capacity-building among its 25 mission countries.  The year-long anniversary celebration will culminate in November 2007, with the World Journey of Smiles, 40 simultaneous missions in 25 countries, with a goal of providing new smiles and new lives for an estimated 5,000 children living with facial deformities.

Media Notes:  To receive images, b-roll footage or additional information, or to request an interview with an Operation Smile spokesperson or student volunteer, please contact Lisa Jones at ljones@operationsmile.org or 757-321-3252.

List of students traveling on WJOS and sites where they will be participating:

Name - Hometown City, State/Country - WJOS site  
Alexandra Bernstein - Coto de Caza, CA  - Jimma, Ethiopia
Maya Ben-Ezer - Huntington Beach, CA - Barinas, Venezuela
Shannon Kiang - Mission Viejo, CA - TBD
Andrea Friedman - Newport Coast, CA - Barinas, Venezuela
Lindsay Kramer - Winter Haven, FL - TBD, Philippines
Gabriella Vigoreaux - Winter Haven, FL - TBD
Jenna LiCausi - Melrose, MA - Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Heather Lations - Salisbury,MA - Managua, Nicaragua
Alyssa Chaudoin - Raymond, NH - Managua, Nicaragua
Scott Schneider - Basking Ridge, NJ - Linyi, China
Catherine Caufield - Chatham, NJ - Santa Rosa de Copan, Honduras
Ilyssa McIntyre - Chatham, NJ - Santa Rosa de Copan, Honduras
Jake McIntyre - Chatman, NJ - Fortaleza, Brazil
Tommy Patterson - Chatman, NJ - Fortaleza, Brazil
Nicole Tramontana - Lawrenceville, NJ - Kisumu, Kenya
Lindsay Stern - Lawrenceville, NJ - Kisumu, Kenya
Meghan Walsh - Leonia, NJ - Nairobi, Kenya
John Battaglia - Madison, NJ - Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Kinsey Durham - Albuquerque,NM - Calcutta, India
Megan Lloyd - Albuquerque, NM - Casablanca, Morocco
Kristyn Otsuka - Albuquerque, NM - Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Olivia Ott  - Albuquerque, NM - Vijaywada, India
Carolyn Parshall - Corrales, NM - Jimma, Ethiopia
Jessica Hendel - New York, NY - Calcutta, India
Arthur Kurtzman - Cincinnati, OH - Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Raquel Robinson - Upper Derby, PA - Nairobi, Kenya
Katie James - Villanova, PA - Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Amie Isom - Bountiful, UT - Vijaywada, India
Tiana Jeppsen - Bountiful, UT - Amman, Jordan
Madison Call - Orem, UT - TBD
Kelli Davies - Orem, UT - Amman, Jordan
Eliza Peak -  Franklin, VA - TBD, Philippines
Barron Frazier - Norfolk, VA - Linyi, China
Lauren Perlman - Virginia Beach, VA - Asuncion, Paraguay
Jennifer Nolan - Dublin, Ireland - Casablanca, Morocco
Laura O’Callaghan - Dublin, Ireland - Asuncion, Paraguay
Lucia Amaro - Asuncion, Paraguay - Qena, Egypt
Lucia Callizo - Asuncion, Paraguay - Qena, Egypt