Girl on a mission

Baldwin teen organizes fundraiser for medical training around the world

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When Ciara Villalona-Lockhart, a Baldwin resident who was born with a congenital defect, met Dr. Kaveh Alizadeh about a year ago to plan two surgical procedures, neither of them knew the impact they would have on each other’s life.

It wasn’t long before Ciara, who’s now a senior at Sacred Heart Academy in Hempstead, learned that Alizadeh did more than just perform surgical procedures at Westchester Medical Center, New York Medical College, where he is chief of plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Alizadeh founded Mission: Restore, a nonprofit organization that trains medical professionals abroad in complex reconstructive surgery in order to create a sustainable medical “infrastructure.” Since 1993, the year Alizadeh began his volunteer work in Afghan refugee camps, Mission: Restore volunteer surgeons have undertaken more than 1,500 complex reconstructive surgeries in more than 20 countries on four continents.

Ciara was impressed. “I felt inspired when I found out what he did,” she said after an assembly at Sacred Heart last week at which she and Alizadeh were the keynote speakers. “I wanted to help.”

Ciara asked Sacred Heart administrators if she could organize an event where students would have the option to “dress down,” or wear something other than their uniforms, to school, if they made a donation to Mission: Restore. Assistant Principal Emanuela Sullivan liked the idea, but wasn’t sure how much money it would raise.

On Oct. 4, a large majority of Sacred Heart’s 800 students came to school in casual clothes — and raised about $4,000 to benefit the organization. “She took the bull by the horns and decided to help others,” Sullivan said of Ciara, adding that while many teenagers like to discuss their new phones, “That’s not even on her radar. Her radar is basically how she’s going to help others.”

The suggested donation was $5, but many students contributed more. It was the first time, Alizadeh said, that Mission: Restore has gotten a donation in this fashion. Normally, his organization relies on large donations from single sources.

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