We had an amazing experience as many of our Rotary Club of Chula Vista Eastlake members recently visited one of our grant recipients: Thousand Smiles Clinic in Ensenada. We catered lunch for the hospital and dental staff. We also donated 12 backpacks filled with dental hygiene items and other necessities for the children who had surgery that weekend.
Rotary Club of Chula Vista Eastlake members were able to view one of our amazing grant recipients in action, the Thousand Smiles Clinic in Ensenada. We catered lunch for the hospital and dental staff on Saturday, February 2. We also donated 12 backpacks filled with dental hygiene items and other necessities for the children who had surgery that weekend. The Thousand Smiles Foundation provides life-saving surgeries and related health care for FREE to underserved children. Teresa Sanchez Misenhelter, the foundation’s Volunteer Coordinator, reports it was a fantastic clinic. “We always strive for improvement but face new hurdles every time,” she said. “Yet, it always works out and there’s more joy than frustration at the end of it all. The children learn to trust and appreciate us. The parents are eternally grateful. The volunteers develop life-long friendships. What's not to love?”
The dental clinic was very busy. At the hospital the following procedures were performed: 2 cleft lips, 3 cleft palates, 3 grafts, 1 complicated extraction, and 4 ear tube placements. The patients ranged in age from 6 months to 52 years old.
After visiting both the Thousand Smiles clinic and the hospital where the surgeries were performed, club members stopped at Splash restaurant on our return trip. Although the day was a wet one, we still enjoyed the great food and view. Several vowed to return to both the restaurant and Thousand Smiles clinic.
Special thanks to our member Angelica Wallace, who wrote our club grant for this project and made possible this volunteer opportunity. The support for Thousand Smilies was one of six grants awarded by the Rotary Club of Chula Vista Eastlake for 2018-19. Together, the six grants total $6,700 that support local and global projects. Check back here regularly for more updates on our grant projects and other club information.