One by One

We started our global review of activities at our world headquarters in Michigan. But Amway has another headquarters facility in Buena Park, California, where many of our Nutrilite products are made and where the Nutrilite Center for Optimal Health is located.

Employees in Buena Park make lasting commitments to their community partners, and find new ways to help every year.

At the Buena Park Boys & Girls Club, which was founded by Carl and Edith Rehnborg, the founders of Nutrilite, employees can often be found working with the Club members through mentoring, gardening, or helping with the board of directors.

This year, Amway employees in Buena Park gave Boys & Girls Club members the opportunity to participate in the Orange County Marathon, along with 4,100 students from local schools.

Several years ago, employees began to support the Orangewood Children’s Home, a foster care center and shelter for abused and neglected children. Employees regularly visit to provide fun activities and mentoring for children going through tough times. This year, they even helped teach about disaster response and deliver preparedness kits.

There are lots more fundraisers, holiday giving, volunteering and board service going on out west. The Nutrilite legacy of care means a shining light of generosity in the heart of Southern California.

About ten years ago, in anticipation of the launch of the Amway One by One Campaign for Children, we looked around the world to see what our people were doing to help children in their local communities. 

In South Korea, we found a small soccer program with a big story.

Soccer is wildly popular across Korea, and many children grow up playing. In fact, when we visited a Child Welfare Center in Seoul last year, children in the crowded neighborhood played on the roof of their building.

Yet not every child can afford the team fees and equipment to compete with their peers, particularly groups of families from different countries that may not understand the language and culture, and that struggle financially.

The Nutrilite Soccer Teams (named after Amway’s Nutrilite brand of vitamins) was established in 2002 as a sports and nutrition program for children of ethnically diverse families in South Korea. The children who were often misunderstood and suffered from discrimination were given a chance to join their peers and develop a common bond, creating a build bridges across international cultures.

Today, the program is still going strong, and was recently profiled in Joongang-ilbo.

Play on!

Young students in the village of Reeds Ciawi-Bogor in Indonesia are blending learning with play, while they blend up some nutritious drinks.

Amway staff and Independent Business Owners brought a supply of fruit, milk, protein powder and drink mixes to school for a fun day of experimenting with different tastes and textures.

Like any new food, the children were reluctant at first, but the flavors won them over, and brought milky smiles to their faces.

Working through the Amway Care Foundation, the volunteers and students agreed to make this a regular event at the school.

Thanks to Riana Nurwulan for sharing this story.

What started as a health event in Taiwan, soon spilled over into a significant initiative for children.

Late last year, Amway held three Nutrilite Bike Day events in Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung to promote exercise and nutrition.

People in Taiwan don’t often get the chance to ride their bikes freely on major highways in the fresh air with friends and family. So the event attracted large audiences, with more than 32,000 participating, including many Amway distributors and employees.

Every good ride needs a good finish. In Taipei, the ride ended at the Presidential Office Square. There, Amway set up a “charity carnival” that raised money for children with mental and physical disabilities.

At the end of the races, the event raised NT$7.1 million (US$231,648) for the Angel Heart Family Social Welfare Foundation.

In this bike race, everyone won.

Thanks to Julie Wu for sharing this story.

Here’s a recap – - As a global spokesperson for the Amway One by One Campaign for Children, Ronaldinho earns $10,000 USD for children’s charities for each goal he scores through NUTRILITE’s Goal by Goal program during the 2009/2010 season.

What does this mean?  The proceeds have been earmarked to build a sports center for children near the city of L’Aquila, which was devastated by a massive earthquake hit in Spring of 2009.  The ground breaking ceremony and placing of the cornerstone of the sports center was celebrated in October 2009.

Now the update!!  Topping last year’s charitable donation of $100,000, with 11 goals in Italy this season, plus a ceremonial donation to kick start the program, Ronaldinho generated $120,000, allowing children affected by the earthquake in L’Aquila return to a sense of normalcy through their favorite sport.

“As a professional soccer player, it’s my job to help my team win,” said A.C. Milan Forward and Amway One by One Global Spokesperson Ronaldinho. “As a person who cares about helping children, it’s my honor to connect my profession with my passion of helping kids in need.”

“Ronaldinho not only helps us shine a spotlight on global philanthropic initiatives we support, but also highlights the importance that others can play in helping those in need to live, learn, achieve and play,” said Amway CMO Candace Matthews.  “We applaud his efforts in this program and in the community.”