A Mission Interrupted

In early 2020, as the world braced for the COVID‑19 pandemic, Steve Bender — President of the Rotary Club of

Newport Beach — was in Panama preparing for another global outreach mission.

Bender, the CEO of Ayuda International, leads a team of volunteer dentists and dental students from the

University of Southern California (USC). Each year Ayuda provides more than a million dollars’ worth of free dental

services to underserved communities in Southern California and abroad.

As was his custom, Steve flew out two days ahead of his advance setup team to prepare equipment and supplies

and coordinate local logistics. But this time, everything changed overnight.

When Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) abruptly shut down due to global travel restrictions, Steve’s team

was stranded in California — and Steve himself was stranded on Isla Colón, a small Island in the Bocas del Toro

archipelago off Panama’s Caribbean coast.

Cut off from his team, from air travel, and from the rhythm of his humanitarian work, Bender faced an unthinkable

pause. But what might have been a period of helpless isolation soon transformed into something far more

powerful: a seed of innovation and community impact that grew far beyond the island