Q&A: Choosing Smiles

QUESTION: Prior to the Make A Miracle Challenge, Operation Smile was on my mind and ideas going through my head about how to raise some money for this wonderful charity. With so many deserving and noble charities that CTMH could have sponsored, what were the factors that lead you to selecting Operation Smile over all the others? --Submitted by Tamytha, January 19, 9:31

ANSWER: You're right, Tamytha, there are scores of wonderful,deserving charitable organizations and it really was tough to choose just one. (Just like it may be tough for you to choose just one stamp set or paper packet as your gift for submitting your question! Send me an e-mail to me@jeanettelynton.com and I'll send you your gift.)

And yet, when we did our research into cause marketing, we really learned that choosing just one is essential to success -- those organizations that "charity hop" from one meaningful organization to another, in the hopes that they will be able to serve many, statistically have a lot more trouble gaining traction than those who commit to one charity and stick with it. Take Yoplait yogurt -- without even missing a beat, most people can tell you that Yoplait supports breast cancer research, right down to donating money for their famous foil lids. We wanted to be able to have that same strong, instant, long-term connection with our charitable partner.

As we looked at a variety of charities, it was important to us that it have unimpeachable integrity. We wanted to state with confidence where our donations were going and know that they were directly helping people in need, not necessarily funding lots of administrative or advertising costs. Outside of a small office staff, Operation Smile's workforce are volunteers, including the highly trained surgeons, anesthetists, and nurses who give their considerable skill to the work. Operation Smile strives to follow Better Business Bureau guidelines (not all non-profits do), which means they are exceptionally diligent in following donation practices and auditing checks and balances to protect donors and provide great reporting.

We liked a charity with a global reach, because we wanted to do good wherever need existed, not solely in our own backyard. We sought a charity that had been functioning for a long time, and that was well established. We also wanted to partner with a charity that was impacting real people, in real time, right now. Operation Smile fit the bill on every single count! We love that they are fulfilling missions around the world, teaching in-country surgeons new practices to improve healthcare in developing nations, have been operating for 30 years, and that a child can walk into a hospital with a facial deformity and literally just a few hours later, walk out with a new smile and hope for a new life.

Ultimately, when I met Dr. Bill and Kathy Magee, Operation Smile's founders, that cinched the deal. Their tireless energy and fierce commitment to the work changed something inside of me. At a time in their life when many of their peers would be relaxing with grandkids or vacationing in exotic locales, these two are sweetly caring for other people's children and "vacationing" in exotic locales -- like clinics in Ghana or remote Chinese villages. We may not all be surgeons or world travelers, but when we support Operation Smile, we CAN participate in a truly great work!