One by One

Last week, we received an update from SOS Children’s Villages on the groundbreaking of a village of homes for orphaned and abandoned children in Haiti. This news comes nearly three years since a massive earthquake killed 200,000 and displaced millions of Haitians.

For some, three years is just too long to wait. But major disasters call for a different strategic approach to humanitarian support, particularly from companies.

Ever since the Southeast Asian Tsunami in 2004, we have put systems in place to monitor and respond to major disasters, especially in communities where we have employees and distributors. We were among the first companies to respond to the Sichuan earthquake in China, the tsunami in Japan, and the recent storms in the US.

Haiti is no exception. Amway and its people raised more than $1 million for relief efforts, primarily through the American Red Cross, and we used our corporate planes to transport medical and humanitarian aid professionals immediately to the affected areas. But we also set aside funds for long-term rebuilding through Amway One by One.

It’s easy to walk away once the emotion settles and the cameras go away. But that is often when our help and long-term commitment is needed the most. Few may realize that the effects of the earthquake in Haiti are still felt, and more than 350,000 still live in tent camps.

SOS Children’s Village has done amazing work in building partnerships to establish an additional village in Haiti, a place already known for difficult land ownership rights and in additional bureaucratic turmoil when the earthquake took away many staff and records.

Today, we see the investment pay off, and we see a foundation that will serve many children into the future, providing a family environment and a future for those who need it most.

We have reached an important milestone.

The Amway One by One Campaign for Children has been transforming lives for 10 years.

What started as a corporate initiative in 2003 has become a grassroots movement of Amway distributors and employees helping children around the world. While Amway affiliates build alliances with local partners, it is the 3 million distributors and 20,000 employees who have helped us to bring our efforts for children to scale.

At the end of 2012, we have counted 10 million children who have been positively impacted through Amway One by One.

Actions include building hospital playrooms in Russia, enabling better nutrition at schools in rural China, providing customized bikes for children with disabilities in Australia, constructing homes in Guatemala and mentoring urban youth in the United States. There are more examples in every region where Amway does business.

Amway One by One has always been about inspiring and encouraging individual actions for children in need. Now, looking back over ten years, we see a beautiful mosaic of hope, inspiration and generosity.

Thanks to everyone who has joined Amway to build better lives for children in our communities.

This year, we celebrate these accomplishments and recognize the work of so many Amway people. But we also challenge ourselves to deepen our efforts, and will close the year with a demonstration of collective support for children in need, around the world.

We saw tremendous growth in the impact of programs helping children in Greater China, including Taiwan and Hong Kong.

The Amway Charity Foundation ramped up its support of nutrition programs to help children in rural areas, where parents have moved to the big cities to find work. The Foundation reached a milestone of 700 kitchens renovated through the Spring Sprout program, and was recognized by the Chinese government for these accomplishments.

In urban communities, Amway continued to support educational programs for migrant children in the big cities, where kids don’t always get the same services as their peers. Amway now supports libraries and mentoring programs in 35 cities across China through Project Sunshine.

We even had a chance to visit a couple of these programs and visit some of the top Amway distributors in China, who are actively supporting initiatives for migrant children, giving their time and resources to help.

In Taiwan, Amway launched the Amway Hope Maker Charity Foundation to formalize their longtime support of people with disabilities, and education and nutrition programs for children in remote areas of the country. The Foundation launched nutrition program in 62 primary schools this year.

And in Hong Kong, students took to the roof to increase their exposure to organic gardening. The Amway Organic Farming Program came to 18 primary school districts in Hong Kong. Amway distributors led by example as well, with more than 400 pledging to become volunteer Green Organic Ambassadors and work alongside junior famers as they tend their school-based organic farms.

From the mainland to the islands, Amway is working alongside distributors, employees, and many partners in Greater China to transform the lives of children.

Here are a few ways that Amway people are making during the holidays:

We kicked off the holiday season at Amway world headquarters in Ada, Michigan, with a talent show of Christmas songs, dances and performances. Amway co-founder Rich DeVos read the Christmas story, as he has for many years.

Amway colleagues in Tokyo, Japan celebrate Christmas with an orange ribbon tree lighting ceremony with Santa. Amway Japan collects orange ribbons to raise awareness of child abuse, and makes donations for every orange ribbon received to focus on prevention and treatment of child abuse.

More than 150 Amway employee volunteers organized Santa’s Secret Workshop events for 500 students at Burton Elementary school in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There, students could find affordable gifts for their parents, and volunteers helped them shop and wrap them up for Christmas.

Amway partnered with Ulsan Green Umbrella Children’s Foundation and Amway Business Owner volunteers to organize a Christmas event for children from low-income families in South Korea.

In New York City, Amway announced a donation of $300,000 in gifts for children through the Today Show Toy Drive on national television.

In China, Amway will sponsor the fourth New Year charity concert at the Xinjiang People’s Hall with proceeds from the ticket sales supporting schools for deaf children.

Amway Italy organized the donation of 3,500 jars of Amway pasta sauce to Opera S. Francesco, a national government organization that delivers meals to the those in desperate need.

Fifty children from low-income families had their wish come true when they were given the presents they wished for by Amway staff and Business Owners in Germany. Working through the Multi-Generation House and the Food Bank in Puchheim, children were asked to write down their wishes which were placed on Christmas trees in the Amway head office and experience center, so Amway Business Owners and staff ABOs could choose and fulfill each wish.

Amway Austria donated 10 Euros to UNICEF for every seat sold at a special Christmas concert performed by talented teenage artists. The special musical, “Last Christmas,” was specially written for them and included rock and punk hits, as well as Christmas classics. The matching donations and an additional raffle raised 5,201 Euros.

Finally, Amway employee Kraig Haybarker made Christmas special as he does every year, by volunteering his time as Santa.

We hope you find special ways to give and receive this Christmas. See you next year!

The last couple of blog posts tell of our visit to a remote village in China, learning about the challenges of children whose parents have moved to the cities looking for better work.

Today, we spent time with children who moved with their parents to the cities as their parents seek jobs and economic opportunity.

These “migrant children” have significant needs related to education. Children of migrant families don’t have access to the same government-funded schooling as their urban peers, and need assistance from others to bridge the gap.

Amway is helping by building libraries and supporting other programs for children. We visited the Beijing Hongshan School, one of the recipients of this support.

Victoria Han and Amy Wu joined us. Both are Founders Council level Amway distributors, and big supporters of the Amway urban education program called Project Sunshine. They spent time with students in the new school library, and shared their stories with us.

We have much to consider and much more to share as we wrap up our trip to China. Look for more posts in the weeks to come, as well as a video that will tell the full story of the need of migrant children in China, and what Amway is doing to mobilize others to help.

Big thanks to our hosts Paula Peng, Rowley Luo, and the entire team at Amway China and the Amway Charity Foundation.

We returned to the Long Ma Primary School, another three-hour drive out of the city, across the great fields of sugarcane, and through winding mountain passes.

We stopped along the way for a birds-eye view of the villages, and watched the many people going back and forth with their harvests and produce, each working hard to secure a better life.

Two married couples visited the village today and volunteered – Jack Zheng & Lucy Zhou, as well as Wang Cheng An & Yin Jianping. Both are Founders Council level Amway distributors and significant supporters of the Spring Sprout program. They toured classrooms, served meals, played games and distributed toys.

We had a chance conduct interviews of those in charge of the school, including the county mayor, as well as the Amway leaders. We even talked to some students who were “left behind” by parents that sought work in the cities.

There are some amazing partnerships happening in China through the leadership of Amway in the rural areas. This is only a glimpse, which we will expand into the full story in the weeks to come.

Tomorrow, we visit the city and learn what is being done to help children who join their parents in leaving remote village.

After hours of planes, shuttles and busses, we arrived in Nanning, China, then traveled further on to the Long Ma Village, through winding, bumpy roads surrounded by tropical hills.

Sugar cane takes up nearly every acre of arable land in this lush, green area of southern China. The fields are mostly maintained by older people and the few working adults have not moved to the big cities to find work.

For those who do follow China’s economic boom in urban areas to improve their opportunities, they have to decide whether to take their children with them. Many are left behind with grandparents and relatives in quiet towns and villages, where parents send their earnings.

This is the focus of our first visit, and after winding, bumpy roads through beautiful green hills, we arrive at the Long Ma Primary School, where at least 50% of the 361 children have parents away in the cities.

There, we met Jefferson Ren and Miao Dongmei, two Amway Founders Council-level distributors who have been big supporters of the Spring Sprout program, which aims to ensure that children left behind in rural areas have adequate nutrition and are well cared for.

A partnership between Amway, local schools and local and central governments, is outfitting school kitchens and enhancing them with staff and nutritious food.

We spent some time with the students, staff and Amway volunteers, learning more of the story.

Stay tuned for more!

We’ll be traveling to Beijing and Nanning this week, meeting some of our top Amway distributor leaders who have reached the Founders Council level of achievement, and are highly engaged in helping children.

There are two projects we will focus on in our travels, all supported by the Amway Charity Foundation. The first is called the Spring Sprout Project, which helps malnourished children in rural areas of the country. The second is called Project Sunshine, which provides resources to underserved schools in urban areas.

Can’t wait to share these stories when we return!

Sixth-grade student Wang Wenbo never thought he could have such interesting afterschool classes: reading club, making kites, making puppets and learning musical dramas. Even for urban children in China, some of these courses are hard to come by.

Since Spring, the Amway Charity Foundation has been supporting hands-on classes that expand the learning of underprivileged children. They are called “One by One Interest Classes.”

Wang counts the days until Friday, when he and his schoolmates from a migrant school in the suburbs of Shanghai go downtown to attend classes.

Wang and his family moved to Shanghai when he was just five years old so his parents could find work. He kept up on his studying whenever they moved, spending a lot of time reading and building his interest in the world around him.

The One by One Interest Classes offer a way for Wang and others to now experience many of the things that, before, they only read about in books.

This Friday, it’s kite making, and as they learn, their kites begin to soar … and so do their imaginations.

Thanks to Vivian Yuan Yuan and Christy Xin for sharing this story.

“I thought environmental pollution in Tibet was caused by natural disasters, while environmental pollution in a big city like Guangzhou was caused by artificial factors. When I got to Tibet, I learned something different.”

These words came from Zou Aitong, a student of Guangya Experimental School in Guangzhou. Recently, she and 30 other students joined 11 peers in Nyingchi for a four-day workshop called the Green Print Program, organized by Amway and environmental education partners.

Nyingchi is a prefecture in southeastern Tibet in western China, containing some of the world’s highest mountains and deepest canyons. It is considered as one of the few pure lands on earth that have not been disturbed by humans.

Guided by environmental experts, 41 students measured wind speed and ultraviolet radiation, drew maps, studied mountain ecology and tried out solar-powered model car racing.

For the first time, these students from Guangzhou experienced the power of nature and the potential threat of pollution. Meanwhile, students from Nyingchi learned how to protect their beautiful lands.

Thanks to Vivian Yuan Yuan and Christy Xin for sharing this story.