Operation Smile

OPERATION SMILE IS the catchy title of a two-year international service program under way by the Greater Federation of Women's Clubs, and our local branch of the organization, Women's Club of Hampstead, has begun a contribution to the program.Operation Smile will offer support to needy people worldwide who require reconstructive facial surgery.The women were introduced to the personal and emotional factors linked to facial disfigurement by viewing a videotape provided by James McAveney on Nov. 4.Under the leadership of club member Dorothy Martin, the Hampstead women plan to provide 75 soft dolls to be given to international patients as they arrive for surgery at hospitals.

It wasn't long after Dr. James Higgins became chief of the Curtis National Hand Center at Union Memorial Hospital last January that he answered a call from Operation Smile, the Norfolk-based humanitarian group that provides free surgery for needy children with facial deformities. He already knew Dr. Randy Sherman, the group's chief medical officer. Sherman was a visiting professor at a school where Higgins studied. But this conversation would prove more life changing for him – and dozens of people in Nepal.

Five-year-old Marquis Ray seems normal -- except for his ears.They jut out from his head at a sharp angle, causing people to stare, laugh and call him "elephant ears," says his mother, Lisa Muse, a Baltimore cafeteria worker. "A lot of people -- adults and kids -- tease him."It is a cosmetic problem, one for which she could not afford to seek help -- until yesterday, when a nonprofit humanitarian organization, Operation Smile, which provides free medical care to indigent children with facial and hand deformities, held its first clinic in Baltimore.

On June 13, 2009, Ruth Lloyd Services will be held at Calvary Baptist Church, Bel Air, MD on Friday, June 19, 2009 at 11 A.M. Interment will be in Bel Air Memorial Gardens, Bel Air, MD. Friends may call at the family owned McComas Funeral Home, P.A., Abingdon, MD on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 from 5 to 8 P.M. Those who desire may contribute to Operation Smile, 6435 Tidewater Drive, Norfolk, VA 23509. Memory tributes may be sent to the family at mccomasfuneralhome.com

It wasn't long after Dr. James Higgins became chief of the Curtis National Hand Center at Union Memorial Hospital last January that he answered a call from Operation Smile, the Norfolk-based humanitarian group that provides free surgery for needy children with facial deformities. He already knew Dr. Randy Sherman, the group's chief medical officer. Sherman was a visiting professor at a school where Higgins studied. But this conversation would prove more life changing for him – and dozens of people in Nepal.

Jade Nguyen is returning this week to Vietnam, the country she and her family fled 22 years ago, to provide a rare service in her former homeland -- dental care.Nguyen, 27, is one of two dozen University of Maryland Dental School students and faculty members who left yesterday to spend two weeks in Hanoi giving basic dental care to more than 500 Vietnamese."I'm excited to be able to go and help children who don't have these services," said Nguyen, a dental hygiene student whose only other trip to Vietnam was in 1994 as a tourist.

Stung by the tarnished reputation and financial woes of its parent organization, the Baltimore chapter of a charity that works to surgically repair facial deformities for needy children is laying off its paid staff and scaling back its operations. Operation Smile, an organization based in Norfolk, Va., came under criticism in the fall when published reports raised questions about the number of deaths and complications that resulted from surgeries performed by doctors volunteering for the charity overseas.

Horse auction to benefit organizationMount Airy resident Jim Ryan will auction a horse tomorrow to benefit Operation Smile, a nonprofit volunteer medical services organization.Operation Smile provides reconstructive surgery and related health care to indigent children and young adults in developing countries and the United States.The auction will be held at Ryehill Farm on Gillis Falls Road.Information: (410) 296-0727.PoliceMount Airy: Employees at a car dealership in the first block of E. Ridgeville Blvd.

SMILES TRANSCEND the borders of language, particularly those of kindness and gratitude. Early last month, Westminster resident Babs Condon was able to give and receive both those types of expressions as she participated in Operation Smile, a nonprofit program that helps underprivileged children with cleft palates in the United States and abroad. This year, the General Federation of Women's Clubs -- a worldwide service club for women which has financially supported Operation Smile for 12 years -- sponsored a mission to the Philippines to surgically correct the palates of more than 900 children.

On October 16, 2004, MARY L. DUNPHY; beloved daughter of Shirley Willett of Peabody, Mass., and the late Philip W. Dunphy; devoted sister of Deborah Walsh of Maine, and Terry Dunphy of Texas, and the late William Dunphy; devoted aunt of Jessie and Daryl. Memorial services will be held at Chapelgate Presbyterian Church, 2600 Marriottsville Road, on Wednesday at 10 A.M. Interment private. Those desiring may make memorial contributions to Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Operation Smile or to Unsponsored Children's Fund.

On October 16, 2004, MARY L. DUNPHY; beloved daughter of Shirley Willett of Peabody, Mass., and the late Philip W. Dunphy; devoted sister of Deborah Walsh of Maine, and Terry Dunphy of Texas, and the late William Dunphy; devoted aunt of Jessie and Daryl. Memorial services will be held at Chapelgate Presbyterian Church, 2600 Marriottsville Road, on Wednesday at 10 A.M. Interment private. Those desiring may make memorial contributions to Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Operation Smile or to Unsponsored Children's Fund.

Stung by the tarnished reputation and financial woes of its parent organization, the Baltimore chapter of a charity that works to surgically repair facial deformities for needy children is laying off its paid staff and scaling back its operations. Operation Smile, an organization based in Norfolk, Va., came under criticism in the fall when published reports raised questions about the number of deaths and complications that resulted from surgeries performed by doctors volunteering for the charity overseas.

SMILES TRANSCEND the borders of language, particularly those of kindness and gratitude. Early last month, Westminster resident Babs Condon was able to give and receive both those types of expressions as she participated in Operation Smile, a nonprofit program that helps underprivileged children with cleft palates in the United States and abroad. This year, the General Federation of Women's Clubs -- a worldwide service club for women which has financially supported Operation Smile for 12 years -- sponsored a mission to the Philippines to surgically correct the palates of more than 900 children.

NORFOLK, Va. -- Anonymous e-mails accusing Operation Smile of mismanagement and lax surgical procedures have led the Norfolk-based humanitarian organization to hire an attorney to investigate the allegations.Norfolk lawyer Bradford Stillman is exploring accusations that Operation Smile -- which provides free reconstructive surgery to children across the globe -- has used substandard monitoring that may have contributed to the death of a 2-year-old girl in China.There have been 14 deaths since 1982, the group said, among 53,000 children treated in 19 countries.

THE ANNUAL May Fair sponsored by Patapsco Valley Chapter 3850 of the American Association of Retired Persons will take place from 9: 30 a.m. to 2: 30 p.m. Wednesday at St. Christopher's Church, 118 Marydel Road off Sweetser Road.Visitors can have a lunch of ham or turkey on a roll, lettuce, pickle, potato chips, baked beans, beverage and dessert for $4. Then they can work off lunch (or gain an appetite beforehand) shopping for baked goods and bread, candy and Christmas items, country store goods or country crafts.

MORE THAN 100 soft dolls, handmade by members of the Women's Club of Hampstead, were donated by the club to Operation Smile, an international medical program, on Friday.Operation Smile, founded by the husband-and-wife team of Dr. William T. Magee, a plastic surgeon, and Katherine Magee, a nurse, offers reconstructive surgery and related health care to indigent children and young adults in developing countries and the United States, and provides associated training to health professionals around the world.

On June 13, 2009, Ruth Lloyd Services will be held at Calvary Baptist Church, Bel Air, MD on Friday, June 19, 2009 at 11 A.M. Interment will be in Bel Air Memorial Gardens, Bel Air, MD. Friends may call at the family owned McComas Funeral Home, P.A., Abingdon, MD on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 from 5 to 8 P.M. Those who desire may contribute to Operation Smile, 6435 Tidewater Drive, Norfolk, VA 23509. Memory tributes may be sent to the family at mccomasfuneralhome.com

Five-year-old Marquis Ray seems normal -- except for his ears.They jut out from his head at a sharp angle, causing people to stare, laugh and call him "elephant ears," says his mother, Lisa Muse, a Baltimore cafeteria worker. "A lot of people -- adults and kids -- tease him."It is a cosmetic problem, one for which she could not afford to seek help -- until yesterday, when a nonprofit humanitarian organization, Operation Smile, which provides free medical care to indigent children with facial and hand deformities, held its first clinic in Baltimore.