Operation Smile offers hope to children around the world
Making kids in third world countries smile this Christmas is within the reach of every student at Utah State University.
Every year Operation Smile, an international service organization, sends doctors into these countries to perform operations to correct cleft lips.
The USU chapter of Operation Smile is separated into three committees said Mindi Thurn, president elect. The first of those is fund raising, the second is service and the third is awareness. She said the group is trying to help schools in the valley understand what the program offers and how others can help.
“We’re trying to get the high schools to do a Santa Smiles for the fund raiser,” Thurn said.
“Everything we earn goes directly to the operations,” she said.
The doctors and nurses who participate donate their time, so the money raised is used for supplies needed to perform the operations, Thurn said.
During Halloween, the group went to the hospital to trick-or-treat to the children and elderly there. Thurn said the group wanted to let those who couldn’t trick-or-treat for themselves still take part.
Clay Smith, a senior studying biology, has led the current fund raiser for the organization. Starting Monday, the colleges of the university will be competing in the Coins for Kids drive.
“It’s a competition between all the colleges and the community,” he said.
Each of the colleges has a drop box as does the community. Smith said the community will act as one college in the competition.
“Right now the drive is expected to end the last day of finals, but it might be extended to the end of January,” Smith said.
Each of the colleges has a pipe outside the building where their drop box is located that will be used to track the amount of money each has raised during the competition.
The international organization raises money to help children worldwide, however Smith said the doctors can only help about 50 percent of the children who come to them.
All of the money collected from the USU drive will go directly to Operation Smile to help send the doctors and nurses abroad. Smith said all of the overhead for the drive has already been met, mainly with the help of Lowe’s Home Improvement – which is sponsoring the event.
The college that wins the competition will be awarded a rotating plaque which will feature the year and their name. Smith said the plaque will stay with the college for one year and then will be passed to the winner of next year’s drive.
Smith said the drop boxes are located in the Agricultural Science Building, the Eccles Business Building, the Eccles Jones Education Building, the Engineering Laboratory Building, the Eccles Science Learning Center, the Natural Resources Building, Family Life Building, Chase Fine Arts Center outside the Kent Concert Hall and in Old Main, Room 164. The community can donate by going to Lowe’s.