Brace yourself.
Northwestern’s chapter of Operation Smile, a student group formed last year to raise money for operations to restructure facial deformities, has expanded its presence on campus by sponsoring its first major event this week.
On Wednesday, the group hosted a bar night at The Keg of Evanston, attracting about 50 people and raising around $100, co-president Naomi Pilosof said.
“It’s a start,” said Pilosof, a McCormick sophomore. “We’re in the shadows of a lot of big clubs.”
The group, the first Operation Smile chapter in Illinois, achieved ASG recognition as a T-status group in the fall and has been working to increase membership and spread the news of its existence. Susan Casper, the group’s treasurer, said they hope to raise enough money to fund at least one surgery, which costs an average of $750.
“It’s really an amazing organization,” Casper, a Weinberg sophomore, said. “If you think about it, we have everything basically in America. When people have facial deformities, they fix it at birth.”
Pilosof said the organization has about 20 active members and more than 130 students on its listserv.
An international organization with more than 250 student chapters in the United States and six developing countries, Operation Smile supports missions to more than 30 sites in 20 countries. The organization offers before and after pictures of the facial surgeries that are extremely compelling, Pilosof said, adding that the doctors are highly skilled in the surgical procedures.
“A lot of (the pictures) are so graphic that people can’t even look at them for five minutes,” Pilosof said. “There’s one picture of a woman with a 36 pound tumor hanging off her face. You wouldn’t even be able to tell if you saw a picture of her now.”
Pilosof said she got the idea to bring Operation Smile to campus after participating in it during her junior and senior years of high school. Pilosof and co-president Eddy Ameen received a start-up kit from the international organization and began recruiting members by sending e-mails to listservs last year.
This year the group set up a station at the activities fair during New Student Week and attended munchies at various dorms to spread the word about their work.
“On a campus like Northwestern, it sort of broadens our horizons of things we can really help with,” said Ameen, a Weinberg junior. “On a larger scale, it really spreads our resources where they are most needed.”
As the organization continues to grow, members are planning future fund-raising events including an a capella concert in April. The group also plans to visit local high schools, middle schools, youth groups, churches and synagogues to spread awareness, Pilosof said.
“By doing this, we’re giving kids around the world a new chance,” Ameen said.
