Operation Smile benefits from a significant legacy
Operation Smile has become the beneficiary of a significant legacy fund donation from The European Aligner Society (EAS) – £80,000, paid over three years, to help the charity develop and support cleft lip and palate treatment programmes in developing countries.
In addition to mobilising skilled medical volunteers, Operation Smile trains local medical professionals, and partners with hospitals, governments and ministries of health in order to ensure safe and effective surgery. More than 85 per cent of its current programmes are managed by local teams.
The European Aligner Society has a growing membership of orthodontists and dentists with a special interest in clear aligner orthodontics. Its most recent congress in Valencia, Spain was attended by more than 1,300 dental professionals from 60 countries and supported by most of the main clear aligner companies.
We are extremely grateful to the European Aligner Society for their generous commitment to our life-changing work.
Dr Phil McDonald
Dr Les Joffe, CEO of the European Aligner Society, said: “The EAS board considered what it could do with surpluses generated by sponsorship and delegate fees from a series of highly successful congresses and meetings. EAS is a not for profit organisation so we created a Legacy Fund into which surpluses could be directed.”
This fund supports oral health causes, aligner research projects and aligner ‘summer schools’ for aspiring orthodontists.
“The EAS chose to collaborate with Operation Smile, an internationally renowned charity, as we were particularly interested in its work on patients with cleft conditions in developing countries,” said Dr Joffe. “Operation Smile works with clinicians to initiate the diagnosis, repair and support for patients with a cleft at the start of life.
“The expertise that Operation Smile brings to each country is handed onto the local clinicians so that ongoing care and support can be carried on locally and the hands-on training and support for a range of oral health projects globally meant that our legacy fund could in turn fund a significant legacy in less developed countries.”
Dr Phil McDonald, Operation Smile UK’s medical director, said: “We are extremely grateful to the European Aligner Society for their generous commitment to our life-changing work. In the countries where we work, we estimate that five million people with cleft conditions need our help. Most of them lack access to safe surgery and cleft care.
“Our ongoing commitment to providing safe surgery and comprehensive care, including dental and orthodontic care, is made possible by visionary partners like the European Aligner Society. Their support enables us not only to offer vital support and make a profound impact on those born with cleft conditions and their communities, but also to provide training and education to local medical professionals. This empowers them to provide safe surgeries to their own communities in the future.”
For more information about the work of Operation Smile visit www.operationsmile.org.
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