Kevin Sporici ’20, Anna Lee ’20, Pia Singh ’19, Raunaq Singh ’20: One’s personal measurement of success can often be found by helping others reach their own success. Whether it is donating, actively contributing to a cause, or simply raising awareness, each member of the EA community has been exposed to new environments and has seen privledge through a different lense.  Many Episcopal students are taking active measures to help the less fortunate and make a change. One person in particular who has stood out in her efforts of truly making a difference in our world is Amalie Hipp ’18.

Amalie’s goal is to incorporate Operation Smile into the EA community.  Directly sourced from their website, Operation Smile is an “international medical charity that has provided hundreds of thousands of free surgeries for children and young adults in developing countries who are born with cleft lip, cleft palate or other facial deformities.” Operation Smile targets forty different countries for surgeries, but mainly focuses on Asia as it is the most affected region for cleft lips.

Screen Shot 2017-06-28 at 12.58.47 PM
Smiles For Days: Amalie Hipp stands proudly in front of a Operation Smile Headquaters, located in Virginia Beach, VA. Photo Courtesy of Amalie Hipp

It is clear that Amalie has a true passion for helping out others, but she was particularly inspired to join this cause because of her own experiences. Amalie was born with the same condition as many other kids who receive surgeries from large companies such as Operation Smile. However, she was much luckier than others. Amalie enthusiastically talks about her inspiration behind her initiative, explaining, “I’ve always kind of known about Operation Smile in the back of my head. I was born with a cleft lip myself when I was a baby so just hearing about the fact that kids are being kicked out of their families or villages and isolated and made fun of in different countries, just the fact that it kind of touched my heart and I realized that I’m so fortunate to be able to have the three surgeries I’ve had and other kids out there deserve it too.”

Amalie says that Operation Smile’s “main mission that they emphasize is getting safe medical care to children in developing countries who usually don’t have access to that. Especially for cleft lips and cleft palates and other craniofacial problems. That’s their main mission but I was thinking about tying our community in with it through a fundraising opportunity.”  As a recipient of the Ben Read Scholarship, she is using the granted money and has paired up with Operation Smile to make postoperative recovery bags. The Bed Read Scholarship’s purpose is “To honor the memory of their distinguished friend, Benjamin H. Read, and to create at Episcopal a program to reflect the things that mattered most to him in his professional life: public service in both foreign and domestic affairs.” Amalie explains that she’ll “be making postoperative recovery bags so like things for kids in developing countries; tooth brushes, coloring books, things that make them happy and to see their new smiles. ” She says that she has accumulated “a stockpile going with all things that people have donated to me. A local dentist office gave me a whole bag full of toothbrushes for kids. So I’ve been helping assemble some bags before the fundraiser so people know how to put them together, what’s in what. So those toothbrushes are going to that and so far I have a GoFundMe page running and I have $4700 raised so far. It’s only been out for a couple of weeks and that is incredible.”

Screen Shot 2017-06-28 at 1.00.21 PM
Operation Smile: Operation Smile transforms the lives of many children. Photo Courtesy of Donateaphoto.com

Charles Bryant, Chair of the Upper School History Department and Amalie’s teacher, was an integral member of the committee that decided the recipient of the prestigious scholarship. He commends Amalie, saying, “Amalie impressed me right from the get-go. She is motivated, she is passionate, she is interested, she is bright, and she is dedicated to this cause.” Amalie was named the recipient of the Ben Read Scholarship for her intense passion, determination, and dedication to make the world smile more. Amalie hopes Scholium readers will donate to her GoFundMe.