Members of the Mocksville Womans Club posed for a photo at their Oct. 14 meeting holding bright yellow candies.

The candies, with big smiles, were to honor the efforts and dedication of speaker Alice Hawks, RN, who has worked with Operation Smile for 24 years.

She recently returned form Nicaragua, her 18th trip as an operating nurse with the medical group which provides cleft palate and cleft lip surgeries during mission trips to poorer countries.

She delivered 75 childrens’ gowns sewn by the Mocksville Womans Club members, along with many  pairs of flip-flops. Often, she said, the children there do not have suitable clothing.

Operation Smile worked at five mission sites there this year including aboard the USS Hope, a Navy ship. Where Hawks worked, in one of the poorest regions of Nicaragua, 375 surgeries were performed during 12-14 hour workdays.

The children also received screenings for other health issues. Parents were taught how to better care for their children.

“Unfortunately, poverty is the largest issue in Nicaragua,” she said.

Operation Smile tries to go to each site every five or six years. It takes 5-6 months to heal from these surgeries, and local doctors are trained how to treat these patients.

Mocksville Womans Club members donated enough money for three surgeries for next year’s trip.

Two new members were welcombed to the club: Carolyn Beaver and Lauren Colner.

Jean Saunders, president, presented recognition gifts to members Pat Cranfill and Evelyn Daniel for their contributions.

Committee reports informed members of the many activities coming this year along with the education programs at each meeting. Some of the projects MWC is involved in which impact the community: providing Christmas baskets for seniors at A Storehouse for Jesus; interviewing graduating students for scholarships; making teddy bears for the Victory Junction children; delivering wreaths for the “Wreaths Across America” program at the National Cemetery in Salisbury; and hosting bingo for residents at Autumn Care.

Club members also collect box top and soup labels for education.

Each year, they deliver 480 Valentines to every resident in a nursing or assisted living facility in Davie County.