We are proud to announce that Sarah Charton, MBA, RD, will be joining us as the featured speaker during this year’s Angel Luncheon.

A Registered Dietitian, Sarah specializes in GI and Liver health. Currently, she works at Keck Medicine of USC in the GI/Liver clinic, with a primary focus on gastrointestinal and liver conditions. She has worked with various populations, such as people with diabetes, eating disorders, and sports nutrition. She also has a private practice, Blossoming Nutrition Therapy, which she does part-time. 

Sarah is from Camarillo, California, and enjoys traveling in her free time, playing soccer, playing with her dog, and spending time with loved ones. In high school, she was drawn into the field of dietetics in order to understand further how nutrition can improve sports performance and help improve GI-related conditions, such as IBS, due to family history. 

During our event, she will discuss building a balanced plate and the importance of hydration. A question-and-answer session will follow.

We welcome Sarah and look forward to seeing you all at Annandale on September 10. Many thanks to all of you who have sent your RSVP and renewed your memberships. If you have not yet had the opportunity, please see the link below.

My involvement with Operation Walk began in the late 90s as a donor and attendee of the annual gala. I continue to support OpWalk financially by maintaining my status as an Angel donor.

Beyond the financial, I support Operation Walk with both brain and brawn. The brawn began in 2019 when Jeri Ward invited my spouse to a mission in Cuba. She could not attend, but unbeknownst to me, I was volunteered in her stead. On that mission, I jumped in with both feet and helped out in many ways: plumbing issues, X-Ray labeling, pill counting, tub cleaning, packing for the return, and more. Seeing the transformation in people’s lives that I played even just a small part in made an incredible impression on me, and I wanted to continue to volunteer.

The following year or so, Jeri Ward, RN, asked if I would be interested in taking on more responsibilities, and I gladly accepted. Over the past few years and missions, I have been learning from Mary Ellen Sieben, RN, the processes employed in the preparation for and execution of a mission. Recently, I was bestowed the title “Warehouse and Logistics Manager”. This is a good fit for me as I am retired from a career in inventory management with a master’s degree in global logistics (MAGL).

Our next mission (Cuba 2025) is fast approaching. This is where the brain joins the brawn. In the recent past, we have spent weekend days, inventorying our supplies, ordering what is needed, receiving, packing, and palletizing. In addition to facilitating the above, I will make arrangements to see that some of our instrument trays get sterilized before the trip to Cuba. In the very near future, I will be making arrangements with our transportation partners to get our cargo from Torrance to Havana. 

Everything that goes into preparing for our mission involves some member(s) of our team, be it volunteers, clinicians and team leaders. We have a great team of folks with huge hearts.

Stacy Kelso

Warehouse and Logistics Manager

Operation Walk Los Angeles

In a little over two months, our volunteers will be on their way to Havana, Cuba. During the time leading up to our mission, we're busy making preparations for our journey. A big part of that process is securing the necessary equipment and supplies.

Help us by doing something many of us do every day-shopping Amazon! When you scan or click the code below, you’ll be taken directly to the Operation Walk Los Angeles wish list. There you will find everything from compression stockings to Iodine Swabsticks to disposable gloves and more. Each purchase gets us one step closer to changing lives through joint replacement.

Help us make the wish for a life without pain come true. Donate today!

11/16/2007 is a day that I will always remember. It was the day that I had my left hip replacement surgery, thanks to Operation Walk.

I wasn’t always limited by my hip. In my 20s and early 30s, I taught tennis, rode horses, did triathlons and ran a 10K race nearly every weekend. But at the age of 49, I could barely walk a step without feeling the pain from my failing left hip.

I was unemployed, had no medical insurance, and relied on my sister, Sarah, for help just to get through daily tasks. I didn’t see how my situation would change until one night, I saw on the news that Operation Walk was having its 5th annual Operation Walk LA event. My sister and I submitted a letter, but we knew that we were up against hundreds of others who needed the same help I did.

We received the news in September that I was one of the 10 selected for joint replacement surgery. I was so grateful for the chance to have a surgery that seemed to be out of my reach. You can’t repay something like that.

Coordinator, Jeri Ward, RN, walked the ten of us through the pre- and post-operation classes to prepare us for the road ahead and after surgery. After our joint replacements, she did follow-ups in person and via phone calls. Jeri, the medical staff, and the volunteers gave us our lives back. We couldn't have done it without them.

Returning to physical health allowed me to care for my father during his last 4 years of life. It was as if Dr. Dorr knew my future. He’d told me the philosophy behind the organization. “If you help one person, that person can go on and live a life helping others.” Operation Walk continues that same philosophy today.

Today, I am retired and living with my little sister Malinda. We enjoy traveling, hiking, camping and spending the time we have together. I thank God every day for my life, my health, and Operation Walk. Thanks for reading, donating and praying. Special thanks to Jeri Ward and her staff for all they have given to so many.

As for me, time for another hike. 

Blessings,

Jeff Morris

Operation Walk USA 2007 recipient

If you or someone you know is uninsured, suffers from disabling arthritis of the hip or knee, and needs joint replacement, click the button below to contact Operation Walk USA. This organization, inspired by the work started in Los Angeles by Dr. Lawrence Dorr and Jeri Ward, RN, in 2002, serves communities around the nation, providing no-cost joint replacement surgeries to those who qualify.

OpWalk Volunteers Charlie Ward, Dr. John Kumar, Jeri Ward, RN, Greg Ward, and Cami Ward

Over the years, Operation Walk has had hundreds of dedicated volunteers give of their time, talents, and heart to make us into the organization we are today.

In preparation for our 30th Anniversary, tell us your story. We’d love for you to share a memory from a past mission, packing party, or gala. Let us know when and where you volunteered and how the experience has made an impact on you and/or your community.

All submissions will be featured in an upcoming newsletter as well as at our 30th Anniversary Gala next May.

Send submissions to Cami Ward at cami@operationwalk.org. Thank you for helping us tell the OpWalk story and how joint replacement surgery changes lives!