CCSS does not only deal with birth defects. We are often presented with opportunities to relieve human suffering around the world, and we do all we can to respond, such as providing assistance for disaster relief in developing countries. CCSS also provides medical aid, such as speech therapy, medications, dental work, and other basic medical care to those in need.

It is also CCSS's goal to be the bridge for those in the medical and dental fields who have a desire to offer their gifted services to assist those in need. Through our combined efforts, we help children to live a normal life by removing the mask of deformity.

Our efforts in establishing surgical clinics throughout the world are ongoing. We believe all should be given a chance to live a normal life free from pain and ridicule. Many patients have expressed how corrective surgery has been the beginning of a new life for themselves and their families, restoring pride, dignity and hope, and it is a joy for CCSS to be a part of that transformation!

In most countries, facial disfigurements such as cleft lips or a cleft palates means a life of being shunned by those in their community. They are often ridiculed, tormented, and sometimes abandoned by one or both of their parents. Those fortunate enough to make it into adulthood live lonely lives of shame and seclusion. John Martin knew there must be a way to change this. Somehow, someone had to save these children.

At the time, John could not find any organizations conducting this type of field work. There were individuals building or repairing homes, groups building churches, others handing out food, and some setting up schools to teach the children a trade or help them obtain a job. No one was addressing the thousands of children born with deformities.

John felt overwhelming compassion for these individuals, which led him to act. One at a time, he would bring children to San Diego area hospitals in order to receive corrective surgery. In the beginning, these children stayed with John and his wife Jean at their home in San Diego. At times, these patients stayed for many months while doctors and other medical volunteers performed a series of surgical operations necessary to repair their deformities.