Taking part in the mission

In Roger Woolsey's Advanced Public Relations class, nothing is done in the abstract. The money the students talk about is really theirs to control, talks about networking translate directly into phone calls and e-mails, and fundraising events are planned and executed. But the purpose of the class is not just to gain real-life experience. For every hour the students put into their work and for every dollar they raise, they will be directly responsible for helping to heal the cleft lip of a child in El Salvador or rebuild the burned ear of a Rwandan baby.

Starting last semester, the Advanced PR course acts as a real PR firm for a foundation or organization. This semester, the class is working on behalf of Medical Missions for Children (MMFC), a Massachusetts-based nonprofit organization that travels to impoverished countries and performs free surgical procedures on children. MMFC is particularly concerned with children who have skeletal deformities.

Allison Martinelli, a student teaching assistant in Woolsey's class and A&S '07, says that choosing an organization for the class to work with was quite easy.

"We wanted something that was in the Boston area, we wanted something, a cause that people would get behind," says Martinelli. "We wanted something that Boston College itself, with the Jesuit ideals, would be aligned with."

Meeting the people behind MMFC sealed the deal for Woolsey and Martinelli. Dr. Usama Hamdan , one of the organization's founders and Sonya Provost, the executive director and a friend of Woolsey, were very eager to work with the class.

"They were just so welcoming, right from the start, so warm and caring and you could tell that these people were just the most genuinely giving people. There is no way that you can't want to help them after meeting them," says Martinelli.

The class came into contact with MMFC at just the right time. Hamdan, who is a founder and president of the organization, has seen MMFC undergo tremendous growth since its inception as a nonprofit in 2000.

"The foundation basically has grown from one mission a year to six missions a year-and-a-half ago. We're now up to 11 missions a year, pending getting enough funding for all these missions," says Hamdan.

The group assembles a staff of plastic surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, dentists, and other volunteers, operating out of a local hospital for its week-long trip. There is a lot of logistical coordination with local staff in the six to eight months prior to its visit, and once the group arrives, it's five days of high-paced surgeries and dentistry.

Hamdan says the doctors' main concerns are to operate on children with severe skeletal deformities and patients they have already operated on before. Cleft lips surgeries are considered a priority; children that have had a cleft lip surgery on a previous visit and need a cleft palate surgery will be the first ones on the list

"We assess the need. Because we have limited resources, we try to select the faces that we can have a major impact on in a relatively short time," says Hamdan.

He says that it is extremely tough to turn patients away, so now patients are prescreened before the team arrives. Every decision they make to not operate on a child is heartbreaking.

The students in the Advanced PR class understand very well what all their hard work is going toward.

The class became acquainted with the program's work through DVDs and personal interaction with MMFC staff, and note that knowing the story behind their work helps to put their jobs in perspective.

"If we have a problem, we have a surgery and we fix it. In America, you don't see people walking around with cleft lip, cleft palate, all of this stuff that is so common," says Martinelli.

"One of the women from MMFC said, 'You don't see them walking around there [in their countries] either. You don't see these kids walking around, because they don't go out. These kids are afraid to go out in public, they're embarrassed, their families are embarrassed.'"

Stephen Dool, a student in the class and A&S '07, acknowledges that knowing about the end result helps to alleviate some of the problems that come with working on a project with tight financial resources.

"Just knowing that all of this is primarily volunteer work and that these people are devoting their free time outside of their normal jobs to help these people who are less fortunate; we kind of use that as motivation to go past any frustration we might have had with lack of funds and lack of resources and things like that," says Dool.

Each MMFC mission costs between $30,000 and $40,000. This money comes from donations and fundraisers that the Advanced PR class is organizing this fall. The class has several fundraising events lined up, some that depend on the assistance of the BC community.

"When you're working with a nonprofit, you have to consider costs to be as low as you possibly can. By doing the small events first on campus, we're creating awareness within our own Boston College community and parents," says Martinelli.

The class began by soliciting donations during Parents' Weekend and informing undergraduates, friends, and families about the organization. On Monday, the class is holding a Designer Denim Sale in the Walsh Function Room. The event, which will run from 10:30 a.m. to 4:40 p.m., will feature designer jeans such as Paper Denim, Cloth, and Juicy Couture at a 40- to 60-percent discount. They will also be selling jewelry and accessories.

In addition, the class is planning a Beanpot Bar Challenge in early November. Its biggest event, however, is a formal gala fundraiser that will be held Dec. 16 at the Westin Hotel in Boston.

"I'm really excited for the black-tie event at the end of the semester. That's what the bulk of our work is moving toward. Hopefully, we'll raise a lot of money for the organization," says Dool.

The class is doing a lot of work to organize this fundraiser so it runs like a flawlessly-planned and professionally-executed event.

"We have to get sponsors; we have to get donations. So I think there's a lot more maneuvering, a lot more work for the class; it's a challenge but it's also good because it's real-life experience," says Martinelli.

MMFC works with the students to plan the event, offering what resources it has and putting its considerable networks at the students' disposal.

"They definitely help where they can and the nice thing about working with this nonprofit is they're just so accommodating," says Martinelli.

Dool agreed, saying that a large part of the success of their partnership comes from the trust the organization has in the students.

"We've had a lot of flexibility to do what we thought we needed to do and they've been very supportive in getting us all the materials we've needed and everything like that," he says.

The respect between the class and the charity are mutual.

"I've been extremely impressed with their level of awareness, their enthusiasm, with their ideas. They're clearly bringing a lot of fresh blood and fresh energy," says Hamdan.

The opportunities the class provides go beyond learning experiences. Martinelli was even invited by MMFC to go on the next mission, and other students express a desire to join on as volunteers for future missions. The class is a great example of how the pragmatic aspect of wanting experience in a future career field can have a truly service-oriented involvement as well.

Hamdan believes the students involved in the class are going to grow considerably, simply because of the nature of the organization for which they are working.

"I think it is going to be a life-changing experience for them because you are really looking at experiences whereby kids who are deformed receive help then afterward have a whole different life," says Hamdan.

Both Woolsey's class and Hamdan encourage all students, including those not enrolled in the class, to get involved with MMFC.

Dool and Martinelli both encourage students to get involved by visiting Medical Mission for Children's Web site, www.mmfc.org, and the class's video blog, homepage.mac.com/eaglepr/EaglePR/menu3.html.

"There's no way you can't be so passionate about it," says Martinelli. "I'm just glad I'm a part of it."