Our History

Our Beginning
Operation Smile was founded by Dr. William P. Magee, a plastic surgeon, and his wife, Kathleen, a nurse and clinical social worker. In 1982, the Magees traveled to the Philippines with a group of medical volunteers to repair children's cleft lips and cleft palates. They discovered hundreds of children ravaged by deformities, and although they helped many children, the volunteers were forced to turn away the majority of those who sought help. The Magees saw the need and Operation Smile was born.

Our Programs
International Medical Missions
Operation Smile coordinates more than 30 Medical Mission sites in 26 countries annually. Last year, medical volunteers provided free surgeries for 9,221 children through international and local, in-country medical missions. Operation Smile’s partner countries include:
Bolivia • Brazil • Cambodia • China • Colombia • Ecuador • Egypt Ethiopia • Gaza Strip/West Bank • Haiti • Honduras • India • Jordan • Kenya • Mexico • Morocco • Nicaragua • Panama • Paraguay • Peru • Philippines • Russia • Thailand • Venezuela • Vietnam

Chapters & Foundations
Operation Smile has Global Resource Chapters that raise funds and awareness to support its programs. Mission teams are hosted by International Foundations that are responsible for all in-country mission logistics and that also raise funds and awareness throughout the year.

U.S. Care Network
Operation Smile also provides a network of resources to assist families in the U.S. with children born with facial deformities. This network is accessed through the Operation Smile Website and includes a listing of Referral Websites plus a Physician Resource List with the names of doctors available to review a case.

Education
Operation Smile provides a framework for its partner countries to come together to share knowledge, technology and skills through the use of programs customized to each country’s specific medical infrastructure. University partnerships offer Operation Smile medical volunteers training in advanced techniques and provide opportunities including fellowships, emeritus professorships and visiting professorship programs. The annual Operation Smile Physicians’ Training Program (PTP) brings surgeons from around the world to the United States for training in specialized surgical skills.

Student Programs
More than 500 Operation Smile Student Associations in the United States and around the world build awareness, raise funds and educate students about the values of commitment, leadership and volunteerism.

Our Achievements
Since 1982, more than 115,000 children have been treated by thousands of volunteers in Central and South America, Africa, Middle East, Eastern Europe and Asia and thousands of healthcare professionals have been trained globally.

Operation Smile commemorated its 25th Anniversary with a year-long, multi-faceted series of initiatives to promote sustainability and capacity-building among its partner countries.

The anniversary celebration culminated in November 2007, with the World Journey of Smiles, 40 simultaneous missions in 25 countries, providing new smiles and new lives for 4,086 children living with facial deformities.

Operation Smile has been distinguished by many prestigious awards, including the first $1 million Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize to recognize outstanding contributions made to alleviate human suffering, and in 2007, the President's Call to Service Award.

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