One by One

Amway Philippines recently inaugurated a newly relocated distribution center in Davao City. To kick off the celebration, more than 1,000 Amway Independent Business Owners and guests gathered at the site to participate in the 1K@Amway Fun Run, one of several happening throughout the country where a portion of the race proceeds go to support the Amway One by One Campaign for Children.

Amway One by One is an important part of our work in the Philippines, with a focus on children’s rights, literacy and values education. In partnership with the Department of Education’s Adopt-A-School program, Amway has helped to build reading corners and donated books to several schools in the country, particularly in areas affected by the typhoons last year.

After the Fun Run in Davao City, Amway turned 150 storybooks as part of its book donation drive to Lacson Elementary School Principal Elizabeth Ayag. In the words of Country Manager Leni Olmedo, “We are reaching out to more Filipinos by providing them with opportunities that will help them make their lives better and likewise empower children.”

Thanks to Michelle Ochoa and Rex Lelata 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.

Our global review concludes in Southeast Asia, where the work for children is as diverse as the many Amway markets in that region.

Amway Australia continued to roll out the partnerships identified during its 40^th anniversary celebration year, featuring programs like neonatal equipment donations, sports equipment for children with special needs (delivered by cricket superstar Adam Gilchrist), and therapy for children with Autism. Amway distributors on an incentive trip to Fiji also took time to help renovate a flood damaged school, with more than 300 participating.

A partnership in Indonesia that started six years ago was still going strong in 2012. After a devastating earthquake struck a remote area in 2006, Amway Indonesia partnered with local employees and distributors to focus on rebuilding two elementary schools. The partnership continues to last, as Amway employees and distributors support the ongoing education at these two schools, providing uniforms, books and shoes for the students, and visiting once each year.

In Malaysia, Amway leaders launched a new partnership to help children in remote areas learn through the act of play, using musical therapy. An organization called Hands Percussion started the Balik Kampung (Homecoming) as a way to support local communities. Amway distributors are taking part as both volunteers and contributors to make the program a success.

Amway Philippines celebrated its 15 year anniversary and marked the occasion by reading and telling stories to young students to improve their literacy skills, and to build a passion for reading. Over the past several years, Amway Philippines has donated books and mobilized volunteers to read and tell stories.

Amway Singapore continued its support of the Singapore Children’s Society to enhance self-esteem, improve math skills, explore personal interests and translate life values into daily values for young children.

Two innovative programs were launched in Thailand last year, both focused on literacy. The first utilized a phone app to allow users to send books to remote areas of the country. The second was a mobile library, 70 of them to be exact, that were sent to schools across the country by Amway.

In Vietnam, Amway extended its support for children with health care needs by partnering with the government to provide medical aid, educational support, vocational and agricultural training in the economically challenged Thanh Hoa province.

Expect to see more in 2013, with some big announcements coming later this week!

A delivery is on its way to Easter Seals centers in New York and New Jersey, with 64,000 Amway products to help local families, from laundry detergent to food bars to personal care items. Amway Independent Business Owners will help with the distribution.

This is phase two or our disaster relief efforts, and adds to the $70,000 raised on our website by Amway IBOs and employees for the Red Cross, which will be matched by Amway.

A little over a year ago, a similar effort was underway.

Incessant monsoon rains flooded the streets in Barangays Sumilang and Bagong Ilog in Pasig cities in the Philippines. The government declared a state of emergency. Residents left their houses, businesses and farm lands to seek for shelter. Clean water and food were scarce. 

Amway Philippines General Manager, Leo Boon Wang, led a group of employees to help 300 families affected by the rain. They rolled their sleeves, put on their rubber boots and braved the pouring rain to deliver survival bags full with emergency items. 

Working with local government, Amway Philippines volunteers did what they could to provide immediate relief to those families in need.

It is reassuring to know that when major disasters strike in our communities, Amway people are there to help out.

Amway Philippines is celebrating its 15 year anniversary. And what better way to mark this occasion than by telling stories.

Yet storytelling is not just a pastime for Amway distributors and employees in the Philippines. It’s an intervention to help young students to improve their literacy skills, and to build a passion for reading.

Over the past several years, Amway Philippines has donated books and mobilized volunteers to read and tell stories. Last month, they personally delivered 150 books to the Concepcion Elementary School and Balulang Elementary School in Cagayan de Oro.

The storytellers are now part of a story themselves – a story of generosity, of hope, and of celebration.

Thank you to Suzanne Comagon for sharing this story.

After hearing news of so many disasters in 2011, few people heard of the heavy rains and flooding in the Philippines in December.

Hundreds of people died in the aftermath of Typhoon Sedong in Cagayan de Oro. It was the worst natural disaster in the Philippines in a decade.

Amway Philippines rallied to help. They packaged relief goods, with help from Amway distributors and employees. And they set up donation sites to help the families affected by the flooding.

Last month, Amway leaders turned over a check for P500,000 ($11,700 USD) to the Philippine Red Cross for the rehabilitation of victims of Typhoon Sendong in Cagayan de Oro.

We extend our appreciation to colleagues and friends in the Philippines for their generosity.

The year 2011 opened with an unusual number of disasters, and it looks like it will close with one more significant one.

Last weekend, Tropical Storm Washi brought heavy rains and flash floods across central and southern areas of the Philippines. Many of the areas are unaccustomed to being affected by seasonal weather.

At this time, the death toll is over 1,000 and many have evacuated their homes.

Our colleagues from Amway Philippines are reaching out the Red Cross, providing immediate donations and matching donations of Amway Independent Business Owners and employees who give through the Amway site.

Our hearts go out those affected.

A healthy family starts with healthy relationships – like the bond of a mother and her daughter. It’s a special relationship where beauty and wellness are intertwined.

Amway is working with partners in the Philippines to celebrate and enhance this special mother-daughter relationship through the first Mother-Daughter Pageant held this summer.

Tin and China were named winners as they performed an interpretation of Ugoy ng Duyan, Filipino’s traditional song about daughters’ devotion to their mothers.

This is part of a broader Family Health Summit, a campaign launched by Amway Philippines to promote healthy lifestyles across the country.

“We want Filipino families to be reminded that being healthy is both a food and a lifestyle choice,” said Leni Olmedo, Director for Marketing and Business Relations, Amway Philippines. “Each member of the family must support one another to think of fun ways to be active and use it as an opportunity to bond with your family.”

Thanks to Sri Soekarmoen for sharing this story.