My Story...

This cornhole tournament is for my senior project. When I thought about my project, the one thing I knew was that I wanted to do something for Operation Smile. What is Operation Smile? We are a non-profit organization, founded locally in Virginia Beach, Virginia! We travel the world providing free cleft lip and cleft palate surgery for people in need. We also provide essential healthcare education because we believe the power of education is transformative.



I have been involved with Operation Smile for 8+ years now. I’ve done small fundraisers with my school, volunteering, and helped with Cycle for Smiles, Spread the Love and the children's festival. My school, Hampton Roads Academy has been so helpful and fostered my passion and love for Operation Smile. HRA has supported countless oppurtunities such as, donation drives and fundraser events, as well as working around my academic schedule to participate in a surgical program.



This past March 2024, after a rigorous 2 year application process, I was selected to work on a surgical team in Madagascar! It was life changing for me because it showed me how many things I take for granted. It showed me to be grateful for everything I have. On this program 127 patients received life changing surgery and so many more were given hope. I feel honored that I was able to witness these 127 surgeries.



Meet Oneil!! He is 5 years old and is from Fianarantsoa, Madagascar. He lives with his mother and grandmother on their farm. He had a partial cleft, and even though it was partial, it still affected his life dramatically. He has friends, but they still bullied him for his struggles in speaking. He outright asked his mom if he could get his lip fixed because of all of the bullying. Fortunately, Oneil was able to receive surgery and now has a brighter outlook because of Operation Smile. One of the best ways for people in the United States to help is by donating. Each surgery can cost up to $240, but the surgery is free for the patients. By participating in this tournament you are changing children’s lives. I learned each patient has a different story, and he was only 1 of 127 patients who received surgeries on this program.

For more information please visit www.operationsmile.org