Surgicorps: A Night on the Town

When and where: Friday night at Sheraton Station Square, South Side.

#ItsGoodToGive: What a night on the town! More than 425 guests helped raise $100,000 for Surgicorps International, an organization started by Dr. Jack Demos in 1994 to provide free medical care and surgeries to people all around the world. “We took six trips this year and provided 500 operations. We also added a new country to our list, Samoa,” said Dr. Demos. “I have a large ‘pie in the sky’ viewpoint of the world, that anything can be done, that we can grow and expand and help more every year. And every year it seems that we do because we have the passion and commitment to helping others. It’s important to see the world through a different sets of eyes. We do it because we can, we want to and we should,” he said. Doctors and nurses use vacation time and pay their own way; Surgicorps provides all the medical necessities. Co-chair Sharon Tomko and her family have been actively involved in fundraising for the organization for many years. What keeps her motivated? “We feel so blessed, and we want to support organizations that we love, like Surgicorps, because they make the whole mission about how they can help others. Being kind and being helpful is what I hoped to instill in my family,” she said, referring to her daughter and event co-chair Sharee Waskowiak. “I learned from my mom the art and the love of giving. Nothing feels better,” said Ms. Waskowiak. To learn more, go to http://surgicorps.org/.

#SEEN: Linda Esposto, Damian Macy, Debbie Kollet, Jenny Altman and Terry Boyd, Danielle and Dan Ward, Lori and Michael Comber, Nicole Blefere, Charity Rowland and Judy Traister.