Most surgeons raise money for charitable causes through galas or direct appeals. Dr. Andrew Jacono has done that too, but he has also climbed three of the world’s more demanding peaks specifically to raise funds for domestic violence victims and children in need of reconstructive surgery.
Kilimanjaro, Cotopaxi and Elbrus
The dual board-certified facial plastic surgeon has summited Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Cotopaxi in Ecuador and Mount Elbrus in Russia, each climb tied to fundraising campaigns supporting the same causes that define his surgical career. These are not casual hikes. Elbrus alone ranks among the tallest peaks in Europe, and each expedition demands months of physical preparation on top of a full surgical practice on Park Avenue. Dr. Andrew Jacono has used the difficulty of these climbs to draw attention and donations toward survivors of abuse and children born with cleft lip and palate, microtia, facial tumors and burn scars.
Turning Physical Challenge Into Funding
The connection between mountaineering and reconstructive surgery might not be obvious at first, but the logic holds together. Both require sustained commitment over years rather than a single effort, and both ask Dr. Jacono to put his own body and time on the line for people he has never met. Funds raised through these climbs help cover the logistical costs behind his surgical missions to Colombia, Ecuador, Thailand and Vietnam, expenses that go beyond the surgery itself to include travel, equipment and coordination with partner organizations such as Healing the Children, the HUGS Foundation and THAI Children.
Taken alongside his work with the FACE TO FACE project and nine years chairing ABOUT FACE: MAKING CHANGES, the climbs reveal a surgeon willing to extend his fundraising well past the traditional benefit dinner. Dr. Andrew Jacono’s approach treats generating support for humanitarian surgery as its own kind of endurance test, one measured in altitude as often as in dollars raised. Refer to this article for related information.
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