Over this past weekend, SQL MVP Kalen Delaney sent an inspiring note to the MVP email thread, and I wanted to share this with the greater SQL Server Community.  She sent an update on a project I was honored to take part in, back in 2011, and is one of those things that is truly a gift that keeps on giving. SQL Server MVP Deep Dives Vol 2 was a collection of works by Microsoft SQL MVP authors around the world, who generously contributed their time, expertise, and writing to a worthy cause, known as Operation Smile.

  Kalen wrote: "For those of you who participated in Deep Dives

Volume 2, I would like to pass on some information I just got from our

contact at Operation Smile: Since

2011 when the book was published, the royalties have totaled $10,357 –

enough funding to help provide surgeries for 43 children!  So please

send a big thank you to all the contributors from Operation Smile!"

In fact, as recently as last December 2014, T-SQL Tuesday#61 had us talking about "Giving Back", and I mentioned my proud participation in this great book.

From a charitable perspective, I was delighted to be

involved in this worthy cause, Operation

Smile, where the proceeds of the SQL

MVP Deep Dives II went to children who needed surgical repair of their

faces. I was very proud to be a contributing author (and tech editor) of this book, and was honored to be published among the great MVP community, and

this awesome collection of techical writings.  All of the authors

contributed their hard work to Operation Smile.

That means that the all proceeds of the books purchased by you, get

donated to this noble charity.  This is one great example of the SQL technical Community giving back.

With special thanks to Kalen Delaney , aka @SQLQueen on twitter, and the folks at Manning Publishing, we are proud of SQL Server MVP Deep Dives Volume 2! You can still purchase the book, by clicking on the hyperlinks, or go on Amazon and get your copy today!

More impressive than the total royalties to date, as noted by one MVP colleague, is the fact that 43 children are better off as a result of this publication! Not only are they better off, we are actually changing their lives FOREVER!

And that's just one more reason to S-M-I-L-E  🙂

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