Two students at Scarsdale High school, Natalie Hu and Alexandra Simon, are volunteering to improve the lives of children around the world and are encouraging their fellow students to get involved especially now during April National Volunteer Month.
Hu and Simon both got involved volunteering with Operation Smile Club, a global nonprofit dedicated to providing free reconstructive cleft surgery to areas of the world where it”™s needed most.
“I became a really involved and active club member because I loved what Operation Smile was doing and I wanted to be a part of it,” explained Simon.
“The thing I love most about working as a volunteer is the feeling of accomplishment after an event. It takes a lot of time and effort to organize events and it all pays off in the end,” Hu said. “It is the combination of knowing that our work is paying off and that we are helping people all over the world in the process that makes volunteering valuable to me.”
One of their fundraisers produced $1,000 for Operation Smile, which ultimately allowed five people to receive free reconstructive cleft surgery and related care.
Operation Smile revolutionized cleft surgery globally in 1982. With nearly four decades of experience as one of the largest surgical volunteer-based nonprofits, Operation Smile staff, its private-public partnerships and thousands of volunteers have improved the health and dignity of patients with cleft conditions, helping them to better breathe, eat, speak and live lives of greater quality and confidence.
