International Nurses Day is celebrated annually on May 12. As one of the largest global surgical nonprofits with more than 6,000 active medical volunteers, Operation Smile is taking this opportunity to highlight some of the many nurses who volunteer their time to help others around the world. This includes Bryan Manalo who was recently featured on Good Day Chicago.

WASHINGTON (7News) — Dr. Neda Kalantar, a Northern Virginia pediatric dentist, a wife and mom of two boys, encourages people to volunteer, no matter how busy they may be. She herself has spent 25 years volunteering with Operation Smile, a non-profit organization that provides free surgery to children with cleft [lip and cleft palate]

Anesthesiologist Dr. Larry Ydens has traveled with Operation Smile medical teams to such locales as Peru, Ethiopia, Mexico, Jordan, Nicaragua and the Philippines. His most recent surgical program, in February, took him to Malawi in southeastern Africa. Though he has worked as a doctor all of his life, these volunteer trips abroad make him realize how he can help transform the life of a child who may not have anyone else to turn to for medical care.

This year, Virginia Beach-based Operation Smile is celebrating 40 years of changing lives around the world. Through the organization, more than 326,000 children and young adults have had surgeries to correct facial (differences). Many of those operations were made possible only with local community support. One of those lives whose life was forever changed is Jose Villegas, who now lives in Hampton Roads and owns Manila House in Norfolk.

Mamta Shah, a registered nurse from the Denver area, has volunteered with Operation Smile for more than two decades, traveling the world with the organization, donating her skills and time and receiving blessings in return.

Global surgical nonprofit Operation Smile recently announced the hiring of Colleen Kenny as the Director of Development for U.S. Philanthropy in the Southeast United States. Her territory covers North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida. She is joining a U.S. Philanthropy team of directors who are located across the country.

From ABC 4 in Salt Lake City: Park City looked a bit more like Hollywood as celebrities gathered for a charity event in Park City over the weekend. Operation Smile’s 10th Annual Celebrity Ski and Smile Challenge kicked off at The St. Regis Deer Valley and Deer Valley Resort to raise money for children affected with cleft lip and cleft palate.

On March 31, 2022, Dr. Bill Magee and Kathy Magee, co-founders of Operation Smile, were recognized with the Blessed Edmund Rice Humanitarian Award.

Kristie Porcaro, Chief of Strategy and Partnerships, sat with Cheddar News to discuss Operation Smile and its commitments for the next decade.