The 13th Annual Night of Smiles Gala was a night to remember. Not only was the gala an exciting night with a lot of colorful entertainment, but it’s trajectory was based on woman power. Not only are we female run, but we have some exceptional female leaders behind the scenes.
We would like to salute these three women for their tireless dedication to our cause.
Alliance for Smiles believes in women (volunteer) power. We trust women’s instincts and peace-keeping nature to help guide us to the center – a place where we may not get exactly what we wanted, but a place where we can compromise and move on satisfied. Women are dedicated to making our society better by empowering those who need a helping hand. We know from firsthand experience that love heals, kindness goes a long way and if we can touch just one person during our life time then, we have been successful. At AfS we are dedicated to saving children that are too often bullied, ridiculed and even killed for their anomalies.
This year we are shining the spotlight on three extraordinary women who have dedicated countless hours of their free time to help underserved children around the world. Much like our small staff, they wear many hats so that we can reach our goal of Giving Every Child a Chance to Smile!
Please meet:
* Wendy Schaefer Volunteer Art Director: graphic design, painting, photography, websites, and logos
* Dorothy Ferreira Volunteer of the Year, Volunteer Dental Hygienist, Fundraiser
* Laure Lisk Volunteer Nurse Practitioner, Gala Keynote Speaker
Dorothy Ferreira was presented with the Volunteer of the Year award as a small way of thanking her the dedication she has shown AfS over the last decade. Dorothy has a master’s in dental hygiene which makes her more than qualified to work as a Dental Hygienist. When Dorothy needs a break, she switched her focus to photography and fundraising for AfS
Her support of Alliance for Smiles extends to a dozen countries as does her infectious enthusiastic attitude which has been so important to the entire team experience.
Laure Lisk’s compassion for babies who’ve had a tough time coming into this world has driven her dedication to help others in her professional life as a nurse and personal life as a mentor and mother. Lisk has personally touched the lives of hundreds of young patients all of whom had cleft anomalies which required surgery. Our mission is also part of Laure’s family story, as both of her daughters have joined us on missions, with one recently in the role of medical intern.
Wendy Schaefer is multi-talented with more than 30 years of experience in Marketing and Advertising in South Carolina. She arrived with promises to redesign our website, but once that was done she never left! We just can’t live without her talent and vision. As if that were not enough Wendy also doubles as mission photographer, so she can ensure we have great photos for our blog.
Thank you to those three wonderful women!
