Home | Contact Us | Quick Facts | News & Press |
||||||||
|
Home > NewsNewsTSMP Law Corporation raises S$120,000TSMP Law Corporation’s 10th Anniversary Dinner in aid of Operation Smile Singapore saw the event raise S$120,000 in the evening of 24 July 2008.
The intimate event, held at Relish, was attended by the who’s who of Singapore society, many of whom were clients and friends of the firm. Guests dined on a finely prepared meal by Chef Willin Low and laughed with the comedic Sebastian Tan, star of Broadway Beng. The highlight of the evening – a charity auction, led by Senior Counsel Thio Shen Yi, saw some active bidding amongst the guests. It all began with an innocent question posed by Mrs. Stefanie Yuen-Thio, Joint Managing Director of TSMP Law Corporation. "What can we do to help the Singapore chapter of Operation Smile provide the resources and support required for their Asian medical missions? How can we make a difference and be involved, hands-on?” she asked. Mrs. Yuen-Thio, who sits on the board of Operation Smile Singapore, knew exactly what this international childrens medical charity needed – cash, to fund its medical missions. The firm’s team of lawyers did their part in raising funds when they changed out of their de riguer court gown and power suits for tight T-shirts brandishing the cheeky, self-deprecating motif, Sharks With A Heart and worked the evening as waiters, waitresses and bartenders. "On behalf of the beneficiaries of Operation Smile Singapore, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Thio Su Mien, Thio Shen Yi, Stefanie Yuen-Thio, and the whole team of lawyers at TSMP Law Corporation for coming up with this novel idea of organising and serving at a charity dinner. They have shown that sharks indeed have hearts!” says Gary Loh, Chairman of Operation Smile Singapore. Adds Mr. Loh, "Operation Smile Singapore will deploy a major part of the proceeds from this charity gala dinner to the forthcoming medical mission in China from 20 to 27 August 2008. A team of 14 Singapore medical volunteers will be part of the medical mission in Urumqi. They will help in performing life-changing surgery to an expected 150 children suffering from facial deformities.” “I have personally had the rare privilege of seeing firsthand how countless children have benefited from Operation Smile programmes. And the team at TSMP are immensely gratified that they’ve done something different – that their effort is part of something vital and life saving. They have turned words into actions and have demonstrated that ‘heartware’ is just as important as ‘hardware’.” says Mrs Yuen-Thio. The firm’s charitable effort came just four months after it gave S$50,000 to NUS Faculty of Law to support 10 scholarships for law students. Operation Smile Singapore volunteer joins US Navy ship, and brings smiles to children in VietnamChild Life Specialist Rachel Woon took part in Operation Smile’s mission with the United States Navy’s hospital ship, USNS Mercy, during its summer 2008 humanitarian civic assistance deployment. The USNS Mercy mission, Pacific Partnership 2008, provided humanitarian services to four countries in Southeast Asia.
The second stop for the Pacific Partnership USNS Mercy mission was in Nha Trang, Vietnam, which is where Rachel joined the US Navy and the Operation Smile team. Approximately 120 children suffering with cleft lips and/or cleft palates received free reconstructive surgery. A first person account by Rachel: It was my first time going onboard a US navy ship, and it was quite a feat getting ourselves quickly acquainted with the friendly navy crew, the meal times, the long flights of stairs, the humming of the engine, lights out at 10 and getting lost constantly. After we had settled in we all couldn’t wait to get down to our jobs, which was to get the children and families onboard and get them operated on in four days. My role as the Child Life Specialist was to look after the families while they were on board. This included orientating the families who came on board about what was happening, where people were taking them and how they could help their children. Most mothers were already anxious about their children's surgeries let alone coming onboard this strange big ship. I also helped distract hungry, distraught and tired children who were being prepared for surgery. This navy ship is an excellent medical mission site because it has international standard facilities, the pre and post-operative wards are well stocked, there are comfortable beds for children, a playroom, clean bathrooms, the surgical rooms and recovery rooms are also spacious and steps are taken for the highest infection control standards. My two most favorite memories were watching the beautiful sunsets in Nha Trang on the deck every evening and seeing the smiles of the mothers and children as they left the ship every morning. It was such an amazing journey from start to end. WAFF: The Carnival raises money for Operation Smile SingaporeOperation Smile Singapore's first outdoor carnival on July 13, 2008 at *scape Youth Park was the brainchild of 12 students at the National University of Singapore. The students volunteered at the Children's Cleft and Craniofacial Centre in the KK Hospital. The experience gave them the opportunity to witness how surgery and therapy radically improves the lives of children born with cleft lips and/or cleft palates as well as other facial deformities. Learning about Operation Smile Singapore's initiatives in the region spurred the youths to create the Warm and Fuzzy Feeling (WAFF) Carnival. With the support and sponsorship of corporations such as Coca-Cola, MediaCorp and SMRT, the team rallied students from secondary schools to Institutes of Technical Education and fired up Orchard Road with a graffiti competition, dance and jazz performances, games, home-made food and custom-made t-shirts. The event was a tremendous success starring familiar local names such as Singapore's Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development, Youth & Sports, Mr. Teo Ser Luck as guest of honour, news crew ChannelNewsAsia, reporters, and the support of more than 10,000 anonymous samaritans. The event was attended by patients, doctors and three musical bands. An impresive S$65,000 was raised to support Operation Smile Singapore. Sony Electronics Helps Children SmileIn the month of August, Sony Electronics is conducting a retail promotion for Sony Cyber-shot® cameras featuring Smile ShutterTM technology at Sony Style® Stores, Sonystyle.com, and other participating retailers. Through this effort, the company will make a $100,000 donation to Operation Smile. The funds will be used to provide free physical examinations and reconstructive surgeries for children suffering from cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities.
Sony is also donating Cyber-shot digital cameras to help Operation Smile volunteers capture smiles at more than 30 mission sites around the world. Equipped with Sony’s distinctive Smile Shutter technology, the cameras automatically capture a smile when the feature is activated, without having to press the shutter button. The result is snapshots with natural-looking smiles and expressions. “It’s a precious moment when a child comes out of surgery with a new smile, so you don’t want to miss it and you want to get it right,” said Mike Fasulo, Chief Marketing Officer and Corporate Social Responsibility Officer at Sony Electronics. “Sony is in the business of preserving precious memories like these with our industry-leading digital imaging products and we are a proud supporter of Operation Smile.” Headquartered in San Diego, Sony Electronics is a leading provider of audio/video electronics and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. Learn more at: Sony.com Operation Smile Supports WHO Safe Surgery Saves Lives InitiativeOn June 25th, Operation Smile participated in the global launch ceremony of the World Health Organization’s Safe Surgery Saves Lives Initiative.
Hosted by Dr. Mirta Roses Periago, WHO Regional Director for the Americas, the event highlighted the WHO’s new global campaign to improve the safety of surgical care. The event was attended by ministers of health and world leaders in surgery, anesthesiology and nursing joining together to focus on reducing deaths and complications from surgery globally. During the ceremony, Dr. Randy Sherman, Operation Smile’s Chief Medical Officer, formally announced Operation’s Smile endorsement of the new WHO Surgical Safety Checklist. The list includes simple safety checks that the WHO team has shown could halve the rate of surgical complications. The list is intended to improve anesthetic safety practices, avoid infections and improve communication among members of surgical teams. Operation Smile is one of almost 200 surgery, anesthesia, nursing and patient societies formally endorsing the checklist. Major surgery now occurs at a rate of 234 million procedures per year - one for every 25 people - and studies indicating that a significant percentage result in preventable complications and deaths. "Preventable surgical injuries and deaths are a growing concern," said Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO. "Using the checklist is the best way to reduce surgical errors and improve patient safety." Operation Smile’s involvement in the WHO Safe Surgery Saves Lives initiative is part of the organization’s broader efforts to advocate for and provide high quality, safe surgery in developing countries. For more information on the Safe Surgery Saves Lives Initiative, please see: www.who.int/patientsafety/safesurgery/en/ Singaporean Chef’s Serve Up SmilesA Charity gala dinner organized by Singapore based Friven & Co. Ltd, a retailer and supplier of lifestyle home furnishings, was held during the World Journey of Smiles on 14 November 2007 for the hospitality industry. The dinner was held at the Novotel Clarke Quay Singapore, a member of the Accor group, who co-organized and sponsored the event; 250 guests helped raise more than S$186,000. The theme for the black-tie affair was ‘Great Chef’s = Great Smiles.’ Six of Singapore’s finest culinary chefs: Derrick Ang Head Chef (Novotel Clarke Quay), Edward Woon (Executive Chef of The Cannery and Aurum), Robin Ho Group (Executive Chef of the Marmalade Group), Christophe Megel (CEO of At-Sunrice), William Tan (Chef de Cuisine of Amara Sanctuary Resort) and Amy Ng (Pastry Chef of Grand Copthorne Hotel) all generously volunteered their time for the event. The guest of honour was Dr Sheryn Mah, President of Mainly I love Kids (MILK). Howard Unger, Chairman of Operation Smile Inc.’s Board of Directors attended. Guests from the KK Women’s and Children’s hospital included Chief Executive Officer Professor Ivy Ng, Chairman of the Medical Board Professor Tay Eng Hsenon and Dr. Vincent Yeow Head of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery. |
News & Press |
||||||
|
©2009 Operation Smile Incorporated. All rights reserved. |
||||||||
)
)
)
)
)
)