One by One

We’ve been talking a lot about CSR strategy in light of the 10 year anniversary of Amway One by One. In the meantime, activities continue to flourish at the local level …

Amway leaders in India are leveraging our expertise in entrepreneurship to help visually impaired girls.

Through a partnership between the Amway Opportunity Foundation and Andh Kanya Prakash Gruh (AKPG), girls with visual impairments will establish a shop to sell items that they make and procure – everything from jewelry to handicrafts to sweets in Ahmedabad.

Amway will provide monetary support, technical assistance and help with advertising, while AKPG will provide education and vocational guidance to these budding entrepreneurs.

In honor of this and other innovative programs, Amway India was recognized with the Global CSR Excellence & Leadership Award this week by the World CSR Congress, in partnership with the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Big thanks to Amway leaders, employees and business owners in India for their commitment to meaningful investments in the lives of children.

Thank you to Raj Narain for sharing this story.

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.

Amway India has long invested in programs that help the visually challenged, in partnership with some of the best partners across the country. Several advocacy events helped to raise awareness and support for those with special needs, including White Cane Day, the birthday of Helen Keller and an event that recognizes the achievement of women with visual impairments. Amway even sponsors a chess tournament for visually impaired children from 13 states across India, and a dance competition with visually impaired competitors from 20 educational institutions.

In another long-term commitment, Amway continued to mobilize its distributors in support of 64 orphanages around the country through Project Sunrise. They held festivities at partner organizations on India Independence Day, dedicated a day of volunteer service on the anniversary of Amway India, and welcomed children to Amway headquarters in Delhi to learn more about how a corporation works.

Many Amway distributors in India are doctors or medical professionals, and they offer their services to children from Project Sunrise partners during Health Camps, where free medical checkups and minor treatments are offered to hundreds of children who may not have access to healthcare services.

In honor of these long-term investments and many more, Amway India was honored with three awards this year: a Care Award from Aaj Tak News Channel, Asia’s Best CSR Practices Award from CMO Asia and the Asian CSR Leadership Award from the Asian Confederation of Businesses.

It’s been a good year!

India is a true demonstration of the Amway One by One model, where activities happen locally, driven by Amway Business Owners and employees. Here is a sampling from the last few weeks:

A day to celebrate the white cane …

In Delhi, 50 Amway volunteers celebrated International White Cane Day with 150 visually challenged students in partnership with Jantar Mantar. This public awareness walk took them by important government offices, led by the Delhi police. The event culminated with the presentation of 150 white canes to the students, and the kick-off of White Cane Week across India.

A life goal workshop for youth …

The first Personality Development Workshop was presented to 40 enthusiastic young men and women through partner organization Aadharna and Manchikalalu. Amway Business Owner Rajesh Murthy, a well-known corporate trainer, led a three-hour interactive on topics ranging from time management, goal setting, relationships and memory building.

A different way to spend the holiday …

The India Independence Day was celebrated by an Amway team in Hyderabad with children from partner agency Manchikalalu. Events included flag ceremonies and songs with high-level government officials and ended with a donation commitment to support children’s education.

A new partner in the heart of India …

Amway Project Sunrise, a national partnership with local organizations across India, established a new partnership in Lucknow with Asha Jyoti, an organization focused on helping children with mental disabilities. The partnership was christened with a donation to support the education of 25 children for an entire year.

A special delivery of healthcare service …

The Amway Opportunity Foundation organized two healthcare events for children. The first was in partnership with the Delhi Council for Child Welfare, where a group of eye doctors and specialists treated 300 children who may not be able to afford these services. The other was a broad-based “health camp” project, where Amway Business Owners who are doctors organized free treatment for children at Amway Project Sunrise partners in Chennai, Trichy, Hyderabad, Madurai, Cochin, Salem, Trivandrum, Faridabad and Aizawl.

Thanks to Raj Narain for sharing all of these wonderful stories.

Congrats to the employees and business owners of Amway India!

They were recognized for their support of the improvement of education with an award at the Asian CSR Leadership Award ceremony in Dubai last month. 

Amway India has traditionally supported many programs for the blind and visually impaired, with a focus on job skill development and providing Braille textbooks.

Thanks to Yoginder Singh and Raj Narain for sharing this story.

From the stage to the streets, the past several weeks have been full of activity and celebration for Amway and its distributors and employees in India.

In May, we celebrated the 14th anniversary of the Amway business in India with a day of volunteer service in 63 Amway locations across the country. Activities were focused on health and education, with Amway Business Owner doctors organizing health checkups, while also dedicating time for gift giving, entertainment and laughter.

And June, we honored the 133rd birthday of Helen Keller by supporting projects with 16 partners across India through the National Project for the Blind. They included everything from walk-a-thons to debates to reading and singing.

To top things off, in July Amway India received international recognition for its work in supporting and improving the quality of education through their national projects for children and for the blind, with Asia’s Best CSR Practices Award. The awards were hosted by CMO Asia, and endorsed by Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, an autonomous body under Ministry of Corporate Affairs. 

A hearty thanks and congratulations to our friends and colleagues in India for their inspiring work for children, and their prestigious recognition.

Thank you to Raj Narain for sharing these stories.

We spend a lot of time on this blog discussing serious children’s issues.

Yet one of our four focal areas is PLAY, because we recognize that sometimes you just need to give children a chance to experience games and celebrations.

Last month, 109 visually impaired children from 13 states across India participated in a chess tournament designed just for them through the All India Chess Federation for the Blind.

In addition to a fun and challenging event, the top layers qualified to be formally rated, which gives them the opportunity to play at the international level.

Amway Business Owners and employees in India also used their local fundraisers as an opportunity for children to have fun.

Events in Pune, Vizag and Coimbatore featured demonstrations of dance, music and magic to the delight of young spectators.

Addressing the needs of children is serious business. But it helps to remember the delights of childhood, and to ensure that each child we help has an extra reason to smile.

Thanks to Raj Narain for sharing theses stories.

Over the past year, we’ve received a steady stream of stories from our colleagues in India. Despite a market that is very spread out, Amway India has built some very effective partnerships with Amway Business Owners and employees at the local level across the country.

In recognition for these efforts, Amway just received the Aaj Tak Care Award for exceptional philanthropic work in the field of education, from Aak Tak News Channel, in partnership with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

The award recognized Amway efforts and commitment toward underprivileged populations through support of education and health programs that help them attain economic independence.

Jury members included an array of authors, environmentalists, doctors, NGO leaders and social activists. The Finance Minister of India, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, was chief guest of the event.

Congratulations to Amway India and all of its friends and partners who take the time to share their resources and talents to improve their communities.

Amway has elevated its activity level for children in India over the past few weeks. There has been a flurry of action – mobilizing employees and distributors, as well as elected officials and nonprofit organizations. Here are a few highlights:

APRIL 1: After a visit to Amway headquarters earlier this year, Deepalaya School leaders asked for more education about direct selling for some of their older students. Business Development Manager Kanwardeep Narula gladly volunteered, leading a session that taught students about the socioeconomic impact of the direct selling industry, and how a person-to-person business is owned and operated.

APRIL 20: After sponsoring a FICCI Ladies Organization session recognizing visually impaired women who have achieved great things, Amway employees welcomed the award recipient, Dr. Kanchan Gaba, who is Secretary General of National Association for the Blind, a long time partner of the Amway Opportunity Foundation.

MAY 1: In honor of International Labor Day, Amway worked with AASHIANA to create a forum to discuss how government, the courts, citizens and the business community can work together to eradicate child labor. Local leaders and dignitaries – including the Minister for Labour and Employment, and Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resource Development — discussed strategies and tactics to make a difference for the children of India.

MAY 5: Amway once again coordinated a day of action for its distributors and employees at its 64 partner orphanages across the country. While support is focused on basic needs throughout the year, this day is an opportunity for volunteers and children to have fun together, with gift giving, entertainment and laughter.

MAY 6: Amway entered into a partnership with the Balaji Charitable Trust to re-establish the Shri Radha Banke Bihari Hospital in Vrindavan – one of the oldest cities in the country. Upgraded maternity and gynecological facilities and equipment will meet the needs of local mothers and their children.

During our research for the publication of our 2011 Global Citizenship Report, we noted a lot of activity around disaster response. Many natural catastrophes devastated the communities of our friends and colleagues last year.

What hasn’t received nearly as much attention is an emphasis around prevention.

In India, the Bihar State (adjacent to Nepal) is recognized as a multi-disaster-prone territory with a history of moderate to severe earthquakes.

Amway India is partnering with the Bihar Disaster Management Authority to help residents take measures to mitigate the risk of a future earthquake, and using the Bihar Centenary Day celebration to create awareness.

They installed posters and created pamphlets, teaching local leaders about earthquake resistant construction technology and teaching the general public basic tips for what to do in the event of an earthquake.

While these efforts may not make global headlines like an actual disaster, they may in the end be more impactful and save even more lives.

Thanks to Raj Narain for sharing this story.