Service Projects

ORGANIZE A SERVICE PROJECT

We knew you were awesome, but wow!

You all have been so dedicated to helping our patients that our warehouse is bursting at the seams!

While we’re kindly asking you to delay sending us service project items until the new school year, we still encourage you to take on one of our service projects to make a difference in your community. We know that your local craniofacial center or children’s hospital would love to share your beautiful get-well soon cards, friendship bracelets and sock puppets, and maybe you can team up with your community’s food bank or local group to help distribute toothbrushes and other health care items to families in need.

Service is always important and needed. So please don’t stop being awesome and taking care of others!

Cards for our Patients

Show Operation Smile’s patients that you’re thinking of them by crafting and sending them handwritten greeting cards. Not only is this a fun service project, but you’ll put the cards in the mail knowing you’ll have a direct and impact on one of our patients.

Content Producer Bethany Bogacki holds student-made cards in front of the surgical wing at the Volta Regional Hospital in Ho, Ghana, during a medical mission in 2018. Her student team delivered these cards to patients healing from surgery. (Photo by Bethany Bogacki)
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Smile Bags

After receiving surgery, each child receives a Smile Bag, the perfect gift to cheer up a healing child. Smile Bags are filled with small personal care items as well as toys, stickers and a mirror to see their new smile. We need students to collect personal care items and sew cloth Smile Bags.

Blankets for Patients

No sewing required, this project is not just a wonderful way to provide warmth and comfort for our patients worldwide.

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Donation Drives

Rally your digital networks to help us supply our Child Life and Medical Records stations during medical missions. We are always in need of toys for our patients so they can have fun and feel comfortable before surgery. We bring everything we need for medical records – from ink pens to staplers – so we can set up a complete office for screening. Your help to collect and donate these items will help us save costs and serve more children around the world.

Sock Puppets

The puppets are an important tool for the speech and language pathologists on missions to help teach the children about their cleft and how to form new sounds once their lips and palate are repaired. They are a fun way to encourage talking, singing, and playing.

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Friendship Bracelets

Show how much you care by making friendship bracelets. Through this service project, the bracelets you make will have a powerful impact: You can use them to spread awareness, raise money, or send to patients during a medical mission.

Hospital Gowns

Some children come to the hospital in their best clothing hoping to be selected for surgery. Many wore these same clothes into the operating room because the hospitals did not have child-sized gowns for them to wear. Help us make hospital gowns from white T-shirts.

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