Boston University September 2011 Update

This month has been a very productive month for Operation Smile BU. Since most of our leadership board graduated in the spring we first had to deal with getting everything back together. Realizing the potential for our club to collapse we tried to anticipate the change in leadership by selecting and training a whole new board in the spring. At the beginning of the year we made sure to re-register our club We re-registered out club with BU and Operation Smile (register online here). We also made sure to check in with our activities office and make sure we had an up to date understanding of how to plan events and request allocations.

We made a big push to as much as the incoming freshman as we could. The most passionate and dedicated members usually start young, so get them while they are fresh. We set up awareness booths at a general freshman club fair, a fall club expo and a pre-health club fair. It's important to look into these fairs in the spring or over the summer, since registration usually closes before you can get yourself together in the fall.  We prepared ahead of time and made sure our booths had a clear banner (donated by a local business a few years ago) and were fully stocked with OP Smile merchandise, such as brochures, bracelets and temporary tattoos. We also sold our Op Smile club shirts that can be found and ordered on our club website. The booths were really successful. We ended up growing our email list by about fifty percent.  If you're interested in getting operation smile merchandise, email me at jamesonreid@gmail.com. A lot of emails doesn't necessarily translate into a lot of club members, but it certainly gives a broader range of people to get involved when they can.

We had our first meeting of the year where we introduced club members to Operation Smile through a mission presentation, outlined our club goals, and talked about our upcoming events. We also introduced the structure of our club. In an effort to empower general club memebers to take an active role in planning, we have fundraising, community service, and PR committees. Each committee is led by a separate "chair" that is present at all leadership board meetings and directs the focus of the group. This way students who are not on the e-board can work to develop a fundraiser idea, set up a community service event, or create a new way to spread awareness.

In an effort to lock in the students who attended the first meeting, we planned our first event over the summer. We volunteered at a MitoAction 5k charity run. MitoAction is a non-profit organization that helps people, especially children, dealing with mitochondrial disease. We worked to set up, to run  children's booths, and to clean up the event. MitoAction raised over 95 thousand dollars by the end of the day. The event allowed club members to educate youth, spread awareness about our own cause, bond club members, build leadership skills, be involved directly in the service of others, and see a new part of Boston.

Academy of Holy Angels: Spring 2011

This past spring was filled with Operation Smile events at the Academy of the Holy Angels (an all-girls Catholic school in Demarest, NJ).  We had our largest Comedy Night to date, as well as a Cupcake Contest, Dress-Down Day, and What Makes Me Smile awareness poster.  On March 18, comics from a local comedy club performed stand-up comedy in our school auditorium and kept everyone laughing the whole time.  They were generous enough to perform at an extremely discounted rate (less than 50% of what they usually charge), which greatly contributed to the success of the event.  Overall, this event raised over $3,500 for Operation Smile.  We couldn’t be happier!  In addition to ticket sales, a lot of them money we raised came from raffle ticket sales.  We had items donated from Saks Fifth Avenue (who we had partnered with earlier in the year for a shopping event), a local spa, a jewelry store, and much more.  The last time my school held this event, it wasn’t nearly as successful.  We are thrilled to see how much our club is grown and look for great things in the future! 

Throughout the year, bake sales are always very successful fundraisers for us.  For our spring bake sale, we decided to do a Cupcake Contest.  It was an easy way to reinvent a simple fundraiser, and we raised over $300.  We also had our annual Dress-Down Day, where students that pay $3 do not have to wear their uniform to school.  Due to some scheduling conflicts, we did not get the support we wanted, but we still managed to raise over $600.  Most Dress-Down Days raise closer to $1,000, but it was one small set-back in a really great spring.

For our spring awareness event, we hung up a blank poster on our Operation Smile bulletin board that said “What makes you smile?” across the top.  We also hung a marker next to the poster, so girls could write what made them smile as they were walking from class to class.  Within three days, the entire poster was filled up!  It was a great way to keep people thinking about Operation Smile and give them something to smile about.  Overall, Spring 2011 was a great semester for Holy Angels Operation Smile.  Next year’s executive board is now in place, and they will be able to lead the club to bigger and better things. 

Fordham University: Songs For Smiles

During the Fall 2010 semester, the Operation Smile Club at Fordham University held its first ever Songs for Smiles event. Featuring live performances from talented bands and individuals, tables that sold hundreds of CDs and various apparel, delicious catered food, and a raffle, the premier Songs for Smiles event was extremely successful; boasting a record-breaking attendance and raising enough money for two children to receive constructive surgery. This was also the first time that I got to really work with the whole club on a project, and because of that I felt as if I, entering the club as a freshman that didn’t really know anyone, had grown closer to my fellow members and further established myself within the club. The event was not only a profitable fundraiser, but also a bonding experience. Because of these reasons, the Fordham Operation Smile team and myself immediately and unanimously decided that hosting a second Songs for Smiles event would be a must during the Spring 2011 semester.

Like the first event, the Spring Songs for Smiles required a great deal of preparation, involvement, and dedication from everyone in the club. During one meeting months before the date of the event, myself and the rest of the club were split up into various committees, such as talent, which would recruit and organize a list of performers, and food, which would decide what food should be served at the event and then order it. As the committees began their work and found themselves closer and closer to the date of the event, we realized that we still had so much to do. Planning an on-campus event is no easy task, and while we had finally secured a location for Songs for Smiles, we still had to finalize our budget, appeal for that budget, and order party favors and the food. Consequently, our president Eliza Boggia, treasurer-to-be Linda Popowytsch, and myself spent numerous hours for the next few weeks in 408; our school’s designated office for student affairs and organizations. Here we developed and submitted our budget, chose and ordered the food and party decorations, and met with the head of student affairs to discuss various concerns. I had previously mentioned that the Senior Smile event was my most “rewarding” experience so far with the Operation Smile Club at Fordham, however the entire procedure of the second Songs for Smiles event was certainly the hardest and most difficult. While the hours spent in 408 were long, I am quite grateful for them because, in a way, they prepared me so much for the work I will be doing throughout the next few years as co-president. After this “hard part” was finished, we all grew more excited for the event, and before we knew it, it was May 4th and most of the club was congregating at 4 pm in our school atrium to commence the set up process. Once the stage had been properly set up, balloons blown up and scattered amongst the atrium, Christmas lights strewn across the ceiling and wrapped around pillars, tables decorated, and the buffet prepared, the club was in relief and was ready to enjoy the event. Throughout the night, as the nearby Empire State Building was lit up blue in honor of Operation Smile, students and guests listened to awesome live performances, decorated white t-shirts that were to be given to Operation Smile patients, browsed CDs, records, and apparel for sale, helped themselves to dinner and dessert from the buffet, and enjoyed a wonderful multi-media presentation by our president Eliza Boggia that covered her mission trip with Operation Smile to Bangladesh. Like the first Songs for Smiles, this one was extremely successful, and we raised over $1,000! Each surgery costs $240, so that’s enough to pay for at least four children to receive surgery! Fordham University has only begun to help Operation Smile by raising awareness and funds with its Songs for Smiles events, which myself and the rest of the club definitely plan to continue every semester.

Fordham University: Senior Smile Collection Event

Both retired NBA player John Salley and philanthropic financier Donald Trump Jr. slowly paced the stage of the posh Cipriani Wall Street venue, microphones in hands, as they facilitated an auction and persuaded guests to donate thousands of dollars to Operation Smile, which was hosting its annual Senior Smile event that evening on May 5^th, 2011. This was, of course, the whole point of the beautifully orchestrated event, which every year not only brings further awareness, but also millions of dollars to an amazing cause. John Salley was all too familiar with this important goal, and joked to the audience that they should “keep drinking” so that they will end up donating more than they had planned. Glamorous and, fortunately, generous guests laughed at such rehearsed jokes as they reached into their wallets and grabbed their checkbooks while others quickly filled out auction cards that had been placed throughout their tables. That was where I, along with approximately fifteen other Fordham University volunteers, came in and commenced our significant roles in the process. Our task was to record and then collect these numerous donations from our assigned tables so that they could ultimately be accounted for. Therefore, after the auction had finished and guests left their tables to leave the event or continue the celebration at the after-party, the results of the auction were put together and then organized by myself and the rest of the Fordham Operation Smile team. As usual, our founder, leader, and president Eliza Boggia took initiative and made sure that every donation was properly accounted for. “We gotta get this done, guys” was a phrase I recall hearing often. Despite the colossal number of donation cards and the seemingly infinite pages of guest lists, we finished the job, successfully recording each donation and its according patron. However, this was certainly not the only task that we tackled. Although more was asked of us at the smaller Junior Smile event, which was previously blogged about by Operation Smile Club at Boston University president James Reid, the Fordham University volunteers and myself helped assist the organization of the event and served as right hands for the head employees of the Operation Smile New York offices.

           

            Hi, my name is Daniel Dalena, and next year I will be a sophomore at Fordham University and  co-president of the school’s Operation Smile club. While I have only worked with the club for a year, I can absolutely testify that the Senior Smile event described above was the most pleasing and rewarding experience I have endured with the club so far. Behind the almost blinding glitz and glamour of the luxurious setting and guests, whom consist of the occasional celebrity, I was able to witness a monumental and wonderful moment that not only exhibits the driving force behind such non-profit charities such as Operation Smile, but also left me grinning like an idiot as I watched John Salley and Donald Trump Jr. joke on stage while simultaneously raising hundreds of thousands of dollars. It is the funds raised at benefits like the Senior Smile event that allow Operation Smile to forever change the lives of over 150,000 children and young adults in more than sixty countries across the globe. To take part in this event was an honor, and I am incredibly grateful and excited that I will be provided the privilege of doing so again for the next several years with the Operation Smile club at Fordham University. 

U-Voice Bangladesh 2011: Eliza Boggia

At the beginning of this year, Operation Smile at Fordham University founder and president, Eliza Boggia, packed her bag and headed off to pilot the first U-Voice University Student Mission. Eliza went through an rigorous application process, received online training and joined one of the first Operation Smile Medical Missions in Bangladesh. Her job was to record the stories of the many patients and families whose lives were changed by the organization. Her insights not only paved the way for future university student involvement but also provided organization with touching stories to spread awareness and touch the hearts of thousands of Operation Smile supporters. Co-founder of Operation Smile Bill Magee always says, "Reason leads to conclusions, but emotions lead to action." Statistics of how many children are born with facial deformities can only do so much to inspire others. By looking into the lives of individuals, Operation Smile can show others how vital these surgeries really are. It's hard to imagine what life would be like without the ability to eat, speak, or smile like everyone else. Eliza recorded precious stories about the struggles these patients faced after surgery and how their lives were dramatically changed after surgery. Her role as a photo journalist is crucial to the long term success of the organization. We are proud to say that the Northeast region has produced such a strong leader, and we are excited to see how the new mission initiative progresses to include new applicants.

For a closer look at Eliza's stories, check out her club blog Fordham Smiles

Boston University: Park Clean Up

This Saturday morning, Operation Smile at Boston University worked to clean up a local park. Although Operation Smile is primarily committed to raising money and awareness to provide surgeries for children with facial deformities, the organization fully supports community service. Student Programs is focused on creating a generation of leaders who are committed to service both locally and abroad.
 
We got up early and headed together to Ringer Park in Allston, a nearby neighborhood where many BU students work, live, and play. Working in conjunction with The Parents and Community Build Group, Inc. and the Ringer Park Partnership Group, our club worked to pick up trash, sweep sidewalks, rake and bag leaves, plant flowers, and clean debris. This was an oppirtunity for club members to get to know each other, spread awareness, and give back to our community. We were given tools and a list of instructions, and given freedom to clean up the park when and where we could. This project really showed us easy it was to volunteer. Unlike fundraisers or regular awareness events, we could easily join onto an existing organization to make a difference. Check out what you can do in your community! It was fun to meet and share stories with other passionate young volunteers who were eager to clean up a park they have lived by for years. We left feeling like we made a difference and excited to tackle another community service event next semester.

Boston University Spring 2011

Like Holy Cross, BU has been going through a major officer transition. Since everyone but the Fundraising Chair is graduating. We ended the fall semester with an election to choose a new group of officers. This new board has been working in conjunction with the current board to learn the ropes. Since it's often difficult to include the whole club, OSBU adopted a new committee system. Each of the officers is assigned to either Fundraising, PR, or Community Service. Each committee meets in small groups and then works with the others to make the idea happen. For example, Fundraising Committee would come up with an idea for a bake sale and then work with PR to develop strategies to promote it. This system has worked very well, but since we are admittedly struggling with dwindling club participation we've put this system on the back burner.

Since we've been struggling to get people to come to meetings and stay involved, we've been working on a PR Blitz where we created an Operation Smile BU Website, revitalized our facebook group, created a twitter (with limited success), and worked to make our e-mails more to the point. We also created t-shirts. They are simple "I <3 Op :)" T-shirts that can easily be marketed to other clubs. These orders have been facilitated by our website order form. Check them out and let us know if your club is interested! Shirts are only $10 + shipping.  So far the shirts have raised about $200.

We've had two Bake Sales this semester which have raised a modest $100. While they have not been huge events, they reflect BU's current ability. We are working with what resources we have to mobilize what volunteers we have, so overall these have been successful events. Our most recent Bake Sale took on a new marketing strategy strategy to fight off the ever present challenge of collegiate apathy. Sometimes being a charity in a college setting doesn't get the attention it deserves. In order to ramp up awareness, BU Op Smile playfully put the Baked Sale on 4/20, a big pop culture "holiday." While the event was kept entirely legal and P.G., the event proved that working with your audience  pays off. BU Operation Smile friends and supporters at the University of New Mexico adopted the same idea, showing that this was a fun and easy way to raise awarenes and money that can easily be adapted anywhere.

BU has also been working to drum up community service. With a new Community Service Chair, we have been able to get involved with a Children's Book Drive. This month we will also work as a team to help clean up a local park. This will stimulate team bonding and let us spread awareness while making an impact in our neighborhood. Both of these opportunities were through contacts with the BU Community service club. Check out what clubs you can work with at your school!

BU sent two students, next year's president James Reid and vice president Shannon Kiang, to help Fordham University and OS staff with the Junior Smile Collection Event in NYC. While this meant a little out of pocket expense for the travelers, the two had an amazing oppirtunity to be involved in one of Student Program's biggest events. This was also a great chance for BU officers to observe and connect with Fordham's amazing club. It is incredibly important to communicate between clubs. Since BU has already worked with Fordham on a benefit dinner and auction fall semester with Lexington High, the Junior Smile Event was just another way of solidifying our already strong relationship. Fordham proved to be an inspiring example of how a club can become incredibly strong in just a very short period of time.

Over spring break 2011, Operation Smile BU exhibited it's ability to directly effect the lives of others around the world. James Reid was chosen to pilot a type of college mission with Operation Smile University Program's new "U-Lead" initiative. With the help and support of BU's club, Jennifer Mings (University of Arizona), Danielle Rivera (St. Edward's University) and Megan Lloyd (University of New Mexico), James spent three months planing and eventually leading a three day student leadership conference for about 50 participants in Panama City, Panama over spring break. These university students worked together to create and arrange every detail of the conference from scratch on the other side of the hemisphere. Team Panama did  everything from composing student manuals to designing t-shirts, from arranging guest speakers to planning schedules and service projects with the support of their college clubs.  The conference focused on "Creating Waves of Change" and giving students the skills to inspire others in a ripple effect. The U-Lead conference taught Panamanian student volunteers about the organization, leadership skills, and the educational modals to teach to children on in-country medical missions. Students were given the ability to teach the impoverished people of Panama about nutrition and dental hygiene and even had a chance to practice their skills in a hospital. While many children are waiting to receive surgeries on medical missions, Operation Smile student volunteers play an important role by teaching basic health information to families. The conference was designed to empower Panamanian student leaders to get involved int he education of their own people. At end of the conference students exhibited their dedication to service, education, awareness and leadership as they spoke to children and mothers in one of the biggest children's hospitals in the city.

About 50 students from a broad range of Panamanian society attended the conference. Dedicated local leaders like Roberto Zuniga, Ana Isabel Correa, Maria Fernanda Roa helped make the conference a success by inspiring their peers with their passion and experience. Students from the American Balboa High School like club founder and president Conrad Frey left motivated and eager to spread involvement. Students from the Panamerican School like Arantxa Ceja and Juan Diego Vasquez left excited to see what they could to to help the upcoming medical missions in Panama and start new clubs. Overall the event was a huge success, paving the way for future international mission opportunities for American university students. This event also spoke to the dedication and coordination of Operation Smile BU, which played a key part in developing and implementing a pilot program with almost no direct involvement from the international organization.

For more information of the U-Lead Mission experience, check out the U-Lead Panama 2011 Blog.