Operation Smile
 |
|
| Formation | 1982 |
|---|---|
| Type | Nonprofit |
| Headquarters |
 Virginia Beach, Virginia
|
| William P. Magee Jr. | |
| Kathleen S. Magee | |
| Website | www.operationsmile.org |
Operation Smile, a nonprofit medical service organization founded in 1982 by Dr. Magee and his wife Kathy Magee, is and headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
In addition to providing cleft lip and palate repair surgeries to children worldwide, Operation Smile works as a non-governmental organization to reduce the occurrence of cleft lips and palates worldwide; develops ambassadorships to raise awareness of cleft issues; sponsors a World Care Program for international cases requiring special care; organizes chapters and foundations worldwide to assist countries in reaching self-sufficiency with cleft surgeries; hosts the U.S. Care Network to assist families in the U.S. with cleft issues; develops and administers worldwide education programs related to cleft issues; and organizes student leadership programs.
As of March, 2013, Operation Smile had provided according to its own accounting more than 3.5 million comprehensive patient evaluations and over 200,000 free surgeries for children and young adults born with facial deformities.
In 1982 Dr. Magee, a plastic surgeon, and Kathy Magee, who was then a social worker and a nurse, were invited to join a Philippine cleft repair mission with a group of medical volunteers. When they realized that this group would not be returning to the Philippines even though there were hundreds of children who needed surgery, they established Operation Smile.
"It was guilt...We saw hundreds of children and saw many more turned away. We knew that this group was not planning to return. So we planned another trip, but when we saw how many people were suffering because of their facial deformities, we had to keep on going back. You can’t help but be touched by things that we take as completely normal and all of a sudden become a monumental event in a child’s life."
The scope of the organization increased after Mother Teresa invited Operation Smile to come to India to treat deformed children.
Operation Smile was founded by Bill and Kathy Magee (Dr. William P. Magee Jr., D.D.S., M.D. and Kathleen S. Magee, B.S.N., M.Ed., M.S.W.).
Dr. Magee is employed as the Chief Executive Officer of Operation Smile and a faculty member of both the Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters and Eastern Virginia Medical School. In 2015 his compensation package with the charity included a salary of $387,918 plus $28,961 in other compensation. His wife, Kathy Magee, serves as the president on a full-time, volunteer basis and is a lifetime member of the Board of Directors.
...
Wikipedia