Student Activities and Involvement provides support to over 350 Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) on campus. Operation Smile is our RSO Spotlight for the month of November.
Operation Smile is a national organization that raises awareness about cleft palates and lips. This organization raises funds to assist with repair surgeries worldwide. Here at Illinois State, Operation Smile focuses on raising money for the national organization to assist with these repair surgeries.
Antonio Foster is the founder and president of Operation Smile on campus, which was organized a month and a half ago. For Foster, Operation Smile is very personal because he was born with a cleft lip and palate that was surgically repaired when he was four days old. Because of his own experience, Foster holds a special place in his heart for kids who are born with cleft lip and palates. With that in mind, he started Operation Smile at Illinois State.
With the hardworking efforts of Foster, his executive board, and the other members, Operation Smile has already raised about $3,000 to donate to Operation Smile’s national organization, with a goal of $5,000 for the year. Foster hopes to increase their goal next year to $10,000.
For students interested in joining Operation Smile, meetings are on Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. For more information, contact Foster at akfost2@ilstu.edu.
For more information on Student Activities and Involvement or joining an RSO, contact (309) 438-3212.
Megan Snodsmith was a contributor to this article.
