You’ve met Zac.

Now meet Carlos.

Amway Australia introduced Zac in 2010 as the star of videos designed to help distributors simplify the Amway business for prospects and customers.

Carlos is the Latin American version of Zac, taking center stage in a similar series of videos designed to shed light on our history and our business opportunity.

Carlos, who debuted last year, has been so popular that Amway Latin America is expanding the series by adding videos that communicate incentive programs.

He speaks in Spanish and Portuguese in our Latin markets, which include Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile.

YouTube Direkt

YouTube Direkt

Did you know that Amway employees and distributors have volunteered more than 2.5 million hours to make the communities where they work and live a better place?

Read about our ongoing efforts around the world in the 2011 Amway Global Corporate Citizenship Report published today, or in the Amway One By One blog.  That blog, by the way, was recently honored as the “Best Corporate Social Responsibility” blog by PR News.

It’s time to submit your green thumbprint to Amway Colombia for this year’s award competition.

Amway Colombia recognizes the best environmental journalism efforts in that country through the award, “Premio Amway de Periodismo Ambiental.” Instituted 15 years ago, the award has become one of the most prestigious and competitive in the country. Under the theme, “Act green. Leave a green fingerprint,” it recognizes journalists who write news stories that provide feasible solutions to environmental problems and explore ways to better manage our natural resources.

Past winners have examined the impacts of gold mining, coastal erosion and mountain deforestation. The award recognizes top three entries plus three honorable mentions in the professional category and the top two for students. More than COP$23,000,000 (USD$13,000) will be divided among the winners. Entries are expected to exceed 150.

We can’t wait to read all about it, when the winners are announced June 14.

We believe it’s important for people to have a safe, clean place to live.

Since the Amway One by One Campaign for Children partnered with Habitat for Humanity last year, distributors and employees across the Americas have worked hard to make that happen.

Here are three examples where our distributors and employees are building hope for others.

In Guatemala, Amway employees and distributors from the United States, Mexico, Barbados, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Honduras, Colombia and El Salvador built a dozen homes. They also raised half a million dollars, matching a $250,000 gift of Tim Foley, longtime Amway distributor and Amway Founders Council member. These  funds will finance construction of more than 40 homes throughout Latin America over the next five years.

In São Paulo, Brazil, Amway distributors and employees raised nearly $5,000, and used it to renovate two homes. Their next  project? Already they are evaluating how to apply their time and talents to help people affected by the devastating floods in Rio de Janeiro.

Finally, after raising $16,000,  more than 25 Amway Colombia distributors, employees and their families constructed two homes in only two days.

Visit our Amway One by One blog to learn how we’re making a difference in 2012. Make your own difference, too, at Habitat for Humanity.

As top distributors celebrated their 2011 accomplishments at a recent Amway Latin America Leadership Seminar, hundreds of distributors from Venezuela to Argentina cheered them on, both in Portuguese and Spanish.

For the first time, they were able to share the excitement only the top distributors of the region usually get to experience – without leaving their home markets. 

Amway TV broadcast the event live through a new webcast recently unveiled by the Instituto de Negocios (INA) of Amway Latin America.

Amway TV serves primarily as a training tool, allowing distributors to watch live in-language interviews with product experts and Amway staff. During the Toronto seminar, distributors were able to take part in a bigger motivational event that included presentations by Amway President Doug DeVos and Amway Latin America President Jeff Dahl.

INA Coordinator Michael Corcoran said distributors liked what they saw, as the webcasts received more than 12,000 views and 500 comments. Said one distributor, “What a beautiful moment… I’m not there but I can feel the energy that’s being lived there.”

Earlier this year, more than 80 Amway distributors and employees from the United States, Central America and South America traveled to the Zacapa region of Guatemala to build 43 homes for families in need. Amway donated $500,000 toward the project and Amway Founders Crown Ambassador Tim Foley and his line of affiliation donated an additional $250,000.

Now the program, a partnership with Habitat for Humanity International, is expanding to 10 additional Latin American countries where Amway does business.

In September, volunteers will head to La Matanza in the Buenos Aires Province of Argentina to give more people a home to call their own. Before the end of 2011, more concrete will be mixed; dirt hauled; cinder blocks carried; and barbed wire cut in Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador and Costa Rica.

Each market is embarking on its own fundraising activities through promotions, web sites, telephone orders and Amway stores, as we build, reinforce, and raise the ceiling on our commitment to the Latin American region and its people.

“¡¡¡Guau, esto es increíble!!!”

 “Fantástico.”

 “Sensacional.”

 “Wow this is incredible! Fantastic. Sensational.”

That’s how Latin American distributors received the news that Amway Latin America had launched a full-fledged social media effort allowing distributors and customers to interact with  Amway’s brands.  You’ll now find Amway, Nutrilite and Moiskin on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter with updates from all of Amway’s Latin American markets.

The web team, lead by Latin America Communications Director Eduardo Casas and social media guru Alicia Ordaz, has been busy answering questions on and off line about the new tools that are expected to increase social conversation in Latin America.

“We hope that with these new tools we’ll be able to better inform the public and generate interest and awareness of our brands and sales of our products,” Eduardo said .

 And the conversation has already begun, as just days after the launch hundred of people began “liking” the Facebook pages and following us on Twitter .

 To connect with Amway Latin America visit:

• Amway Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/AmwayLatinAmerica
• YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/AmwayLatinTV
• Latin Amway’s Twitter: http://twitter.com/AmwayLatin
• Nutrilite’s Twitter: http://twitter.com/NutriliteLatin
• Nutrilite Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/NutriliteLatinAmerica
• Moiskin’s Twitter: http://twitter.com/MoiskinLatin
• Moiskin Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/Moiskin

Amway Colombia got to rub elbows with Colombia’s first lady Maria Clemencia Rodriguez de Santos earlier this month, when Amway’s Manager for the Andean Region Miguel Francisco Arismendi presented her with a check for $230,000 pesos, about US $123,000, for Colombia Humanitaria.

The first lady leads Colombia Humanitaria, an initiative set by the country’s President Juan Manuel Santos after winter floods left more than a million people homeless or displaced in Colombia. 

After the disaster, distributors were keen to help and participated in a telethon organized by Colombia Humanitaria, but they didn’t stop there. Amway distributors continued to raise funds, which were matched by Amway Colombia.  During the presentation of the check Rodriguez de Santos told local media she appreciated the donation, adding she’s a proud customer of Amway  products.

During the event at presidential home Palacio de Nariño, Arismendi also shared with the first lady another humanitarian project Amway has launched in Latin America – Habitat for Humanity.

Photo used with permission.

It takes a lot of concrete to build a house, but it takes a lot of heart to create a home.

Last month more than 80 Amway distributors and employees from four countries convened in the Zacapa region of Guatemala to build homes for families through Habitat for Humanity.  Inspired by Amway Founders Crown Ambassador Tim Foley, who has been part of Habitat builds in Latin America for years, Amway announced a partnership that will include Habitat projects in 10 Latin American countries.

Read and see more about the February project and how a lot of heart – as well as concrete and hard work – built homes for families in Zacapa at the Amway One by One Campaign for Children Blog.

Today Amway’s parent company, Alticor, announced record sales of  US$9.2 billion for 2010.

This performance reflects a 9.5 percent increase over the $8.4 billion in sales posted in 2009, and is the 10th sales increase in the last 11 years.

Growth was fueled by strong performance in China, Amway’s biggest market, as well as gains in India, Korea and the Americas.

“We had a strong year across the map,” said chairman Steve Van Andel. “Amway was able to gain market share in the direct selling industry, and our key product lines improved their competitive position as well.”

Added president Doug DeVos, “Awareness of Amway’s business opportunity and product brands continues to grow as we invest in brand-building. We believe in the potential of this business, and so do our distributors.”