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.
When New York City Easter Seals ambassador Fernando first came to the Easter Seals Development Center in the Bronx as a toddler, he couldn’t walk at all.
Another little girl arrived at the center almost completely unresponsive. Turns out, she’s deaf – and once fitted with hearing aids through the Easter Seals center, she’s keeping up with kids her own age at school.
I was with both of these young ambassadors as they walked the entire 5K Easter Seals Walk With Me event in New York City last Saturday.
Talk about motivation!
And get this: Just as we were about to start the race from the stage, the generator lost power. No microphones. Not even an airhorn to “officially” start the walk.
So, we just plain started! Believe me, it’s going to take a lot more than a power outage to keep us from supporting Easter Seals!
In all, more than 800 people turned out for the New York City Walk With Me event, including 300 IBOs. Among them, Kanti and Lata Gala, Double Diamond IBOs and New York state Easter Seals board members, stood as the leading fundraisers for Easter Seals in the New York state area.
It was an amazing day, framed by the backdrop of the Statue of Liberty. I couldn’t help but connect the freedom represented by Lady Liberty with the freedom so many people enjoy through the Amway opportunity.
The day before the walk, we also visited the Easter Seals Center in the Bronx – one of 300 such centers across the U.S. There, we saw dedication and passion in action – as the center’s wonderful teachers and assistants work to help kids overcome disabilities.
Want to get motivated with us? Go to the Easter Seals website to find a walk in your area.
Yesterday was our Walk With Me event in our hometown center of Grand Rapids, Michigan at the John Ball Park and Zoo. Look for a recap of this event from Steve Lieberman soon.
At Amway Global, we’re passionate about supporting the great work being done by Easter Seals. That’s why we’re “putting skin in the game” by being there and walking.
Join us, won’t you? See what real motivation looks like!
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!
