The Californer - Humanitarian Nonprofit Celebrates 20th Anniversary with New Name and Tagline

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ORANGE, Calif. - Californer -- The nonprofit organization best known for free reconstructive plastic surgeries to patients in under-resourced nations throughout the world is now known as Mission Plasticos. The rebranding, announced at the recent Celebration of Global Friendships masquerade ball, comes as the organization celebrates its 20^th anniversary of pioneering excellence.

While the former name, Plasticos Foundation, sometimes yielded confusion as to the organization's purpose, the new name and tagline perfectly describes the nonprofit: Mission Plasticos -- Treat. Train. Transform. The word Plasticos comes from the Greek word Plastikos, meaning "to shape or to form." Pacific Communications, headed by Craig Sullivan, a member of the Mission Plasticos Business Advisory Council, handled the rebranding assignment at no charge.

Under the guidance of founder and Medical Director, Dr. Larry Nichter, Mission Plasticos was the first nonprofit organization to focus its global efforts on training doctors in host countries while volunteer medical teams performed critical plastic surgeries on patients in need. Patients most commonly suffer from serious burns, congenital deformities and the need for breast reconstruction following breast cancer. Argentina, Armenia, India, Mexico, Nepal, and Vietnam are just a few of the countries served by Mission Plasticos volunteers.

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Dr. Phillipe Schaison, chairman of the Mission Plasticos board of directors, further explains the rationale for the rebranding: "Our work is renowned throughout the world as our volunteer medical teams bring hope to so many people, both adults and children, whose lives are changed forever. And those communities are changed as well, as we train local doctors to continue the work we do on our missions to those countries. They do follow-up on the patients we treat and can treat new patients as the need arises."

"However, the word Plasticos by itself was not well understood. It was not immediately obvious by our name that we provide no-charge reconstructive plastic surgeries and training. By adding the word Mission to our name, and creating a tagline that encapsulates what we do, we look forward to more clarity as we grow into our third decade of work," Schaison added.

In addition to the 20 years of global humanitarian work, Mission Plasticos three years ago launched a domestic program, Reshaping Lives California, to provide reconstructive surgical care to uninsured, low-income patients in Southern California. As occurs globally, the medical teams are volunteers who spend their free time, usually on a Saturday, treating patients who otherwise would remain in need. Many patients are breast cancer survivors without insurance or funds to receive reconstructive plastic surgeries following their cancer surgeries. Other surgeries include burn scar contractures, carpel tunnel, microtia and hernia repair.

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About Mission Plasticos

Mission Plasticos, a humanitarian, nonprofit organization funded through private donations, is dedicated to improving lives through reconstructive plastic surgery in the United States and worldwide. Training of local doctors and nurses is an essential component, in addition to the critically needed reconstructive surgeries. Overseas, and in Southern California, volunteer medical teams perform surgery free of charge for underserved individuals with traumatic injuries, disfigurement as a result of cancer and congenital deformities, alleviating both physical and emotional suffering. Proudly commemorating its 20^th anniversary in 2019, Mission Plasticos establishes host-country medical alliances, domestic patient care and educational programs. For more information, visit https://missionplasticos.org