The kids came in droves. More kids, in fact, than we’d ever seen at an Amway Global Positive Sprouts gardening project. And despite the iffy weather, more than 100 kids, Amway Global employees and Independent Business Owners (IBOs) were ready to work, too. Even the neighbors showed up at the Steil Boys and Girls Club in Grand Rapids, Mich., willing to lend a hand and a few gardening tools as needed.
Directing this organized chaos last Saturday was Linda VanZee – Amway Global IT employee by day and Master Gardener at home. Every Positive Sprouts garden project is guided by a Master Gardener, and Linda says she had so much fun at the Grand Rapids event, she wants to help with future projects.
With Linda’s able assistance, we planted a strawberry patch and a few corn plants, along with raised gardens of goodies for salads, pizza, and salsa – the foods kids love. What better way to get kids thinking about nutrition and gardening?
At the end of the day, we had built more than simply a garden. We had renewed our connection with the earth, and with the fruits and vegetables we had planted. We had made the Grand Rapids Boys and Girls Club a positive place for kids, complete with picket fence and picnic table. And we all had a wonderfully positive impact on the kids and on their neighborhood.
And we haven’t stopped there. As part of a three-year commitment from Amway Global and the Green Education Foundation, every Boys and Girls Clubs in the U.S. will provide kids with simple, fun lessons on nutrition and healthy eating. That’s in addition to the gardens we’re planting at seven clubs around the country.
We just had Positive Sprouts event on June 26 in Buena Park, Calif., and will have another June 29 in San Diego. If you and your family want to help out, contact us at boysandgirlsclubs@amwayglobal.com. My 7-year-old son, Michael says it’s the most fun ever – and he should know. He helped plant the Grand Rapids garden right alongside the Club kids!
Be sure to check out pictures of the Grand Rapids garden project, along with stories from local TV and the local newspaper.
Any time you have 35 teams of walkers representing Amway Global for the Easter Seals Walk With Me event at John Ball Park Zoo in Grand Rapids, with a total of 500 employees, Independent Business Owners (IBOs), and their families – well, that’s cause for celebration!
Getting all those people to the same place Wednesday night didn’t just happen by coincidence. We had a big group of very dedicated team captains who sometimes used strong-arm tactics to get others to join us. (I heard about one noteworthy captain who literally stood in her co-workers’ cubicles and asked them point-blank why they hadn’t signed up yet.)
For me, the best moment of the evening came at the start of the walk as a high school cheerleading team lead a throng of men, women, and children from companies and organizations across West Michigan – all clad in white T-shirts.
I’m proud to say that of the top 10 fundraising teams, eight were from Amway Global departments – from the top team in Amway Global Customer Support, to the “Strolling Stones” team from Integrated Marketing Services which spearheaded our corporate-wide involvement.
In addition, most of the top 10 fundraising team captains were also Amway Global employees. It just goes to show what happens when a number of people get behind a cause like Easter Seals, which helps children with disabilities address life’s challenges and achieve personal goals. In fact, Amway Global will hit the $30 million milestone of fundraising for Easter Seals in 2010, our 27th year of involvement.
How about you and your family? There’s sure to be local Walk With Me events in your area of the country. Find out why Amway Global employees, IBOs, and scores of others across the country support this amazing cause.
Join us in the New York Walk With Me event on Saturday, June 12. You’ll get a great walk and help Easter Seals New York provide services to children and adults with disabilities.
It’s a fun-filled day in Battery Park with hundreds of walkers, runners, and even roller-bladers participating.
Amway Global is a National Presenting Sponsor on all 70 Walk With Me events across the nation, including this Saturday’s NYC walk and the walk in our hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Wednesday, June 16. Money raised at Walk With Me events stays in those communities, helping people who live and work there. I will be at both events walking with other Amway Global executives, employees and IBOs to raise awareness for this wonderful organization!
2010 marks the 27th year we’ve partnered with Easter Seals. That makes it our biggest and longest-running sponsorship in the U.S.
To date, more than 3,500 IBOs have participated in Walk With Me events – raising more than $400,000 every year for this worthwhile cause.
This year – with your help – Amway Global, IBOs, and employees will hit a milestone of $30 million in donations!
It’s who we are. It’s what we do. And we invite you to join us!
