Ada-tudes | Amway

I was in Orlando to help with the Positive Sprouts garden planting event at the Universal Foundation Boys & Girls Club in Orlando.

We had a group of about 80 of us – Club staff, Club members, Amway Independent Business Owners, and Amway employees – got to work. Together, we planted four good-sized gardens focusing on ingredients for kid-friendly cuisine: pizza, salsa, and salad. We even planted a butterfly garden.

The kids eyes grew very wide and they let out a big squeal when our special garden-planting guests courtesy of the Orlando Magic: current and former NBA stars Daniel Orton, Bo Outlaw and Nick Anderson from the Magic showed up.

These bigger-than-life stars got right down in the dirt and joined in the fun of planting with the rest of us.

Daniel Orton handed out paint brushes to some of the kids, and they all helped paint the metal benches around the garden together. The color they chose? Magic Blue, of course!

When the planting was finished, the kids all joined me in a unique garden-staking ceremony (as opposed to ground-breaking). They were all so excited to see the outcome, and proud of their accomplishments.  Then, they all ceremoniously planted their garden stakes into the soft, fertile ground.

At the end of the day, I was interviewed by a local TV crew about the Positive Sprouts project. I was proud to tell them that through this initiative, Amway has helped literally thousands of Boys and Girls Club members across the country learn more about good nutrition by growing fresh fruits and vegetables right in their own neighborhoods.

Just then, the cameraman noticed the little girl still standing near us hoping to get on camera. “What’s your name, sweetie?” he asked.

“Destiny,” she replied. “My name is Destiny.”

I couldn’t help but think how appropriate her name was on a day when our mission was to improve kids’ lives – and yes, their destinies.