One of the perks of my job is that I get the chance to learn about amazing organizations and the remarkable people that support them.

Saturday night I had the pleasure to emcee the 14^th annual gala for Uplift Internationale.

It’s a non profit that raises money to travel to the Philippines and surgical repair cleft lips and palates.

A local doctor – Dr. Jaime Yrastorza  had the vision in 1989 to visit his native Philippines yearly with a staff of doctors, nurses, and volunteers and help heal these children’s faces and lives.

If you are looking for a great organization to get behind, this is certainly one to read about.

The people I met were gracious, dedicated and certainly passionate about the children they are helping.

Something one of the doctor’s said, really touched me.

He said something like this…. These children are the ones who give us the gifts.

We go over there to help and they end up helping us by touching our lives and hearts.

We are not here for them, but they for us.

It’s about service work.

Doing something for others changes your life more than you’ll ever know.

It made me realize how even the little things matter.

We don’t have to travel out of the country to help others; we can start with our next door neighbor, or the stranger at the mall who needs help opening a door.

It starts by being “available” to help.

It is a goal of mine to be more available.

LINK: Uplift Internationale