Giving Thanks

I'm back today from LA and tomorrow I shoot out to Vegas for Easter Seals' annual Celebration of Giving, where they thank all their corporate sponsors.

We have a cadre of IBOs attending as we have in the past, however, due to the changes we're going through some who had previously been with us won't be. They however ought to be acknowledged for their hard work on behalf of Easter Seals. Over the years Paul and Peggy Hirth and their team have put in many hours to plan golf outings, hockey games and to field a Walk with Me team to raise money for Easter Seals in the south-east corner of PA and in neighboring New Jersey.

Last year the team raised more than $64,000. Mike and Patti Angelos have served as the leaders of the annual golf outing for many years. My favorite part is the golf ball drop from a helicoptor over the 18th hole. If the golf ball you purchased ends up in the hole you win!

Ray and Julie Matz organize the annual Pro-Am hockey match featuring former Stanley Cup winning Philly Fliers against the best hearted team of IBOs and friends. I just got a note from Ray announcing the total raised this year. A solid $20,000...a wonderful result for a growing event.

While these wonderful people have chosen to move on from Quixtar, they remain committed to Easter Seals and will continue to organize the golf tournament, the hockey game and more. Their hearts are big. They are wonderful people and I feel very blessed to know them.

So, A GREAT BIG THANK YOU to all of you.

Paul Gaughn, Mike Angelos, Mattie Gaughn (Easter Seals Child Ambassador) getting ready to go up and drop the balls over the 18th green at the 2006 golf outing.

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Off to LA

This afternoon I'm off to LA for the first stop in the National Spotlight tour. I'm excited about it for several reasons. The first is that I always enjoy being out in the midst of all our IBOs and soaking up the enthusiasm that you all have. The second is that I have another opportunity to speak with you all about the One by One campaign, our support for Easter Seals and the U.S. Dream Academy and most importantly, to learn about what each and every one of you is doing to help your communities.

In 6 of the 10 markets we'll be coordinating a radio promotion to raise awareness of the Artistry Beauty Begins with Heart program that supports Easter Seals autism services. In LA, KOST listeners will have the chance to win an Artistry Beauty Begins with Heart gift-bag and a gift certificate to a local spa. Other cities where we'll be running the promotion include Orlando, Chicago, New York, Washington D.C., and Portland, OR.

Next week I head to Las Vegas for the Easter Seals annual Celebration of Giving. I'll be joined by many IBOs who have been long-time supporters of Easter Seals. I'm thrilled to let you know that two of those IBOs, Jim and Pam Pierce of Girard, OH. will be recognized for having reached the $1,000,000 lifetime giving mark. I'll have more stories and pictures to share when I get back.

As Beth Dornan mentioned in her blog, we've increased giving to Easter Seals by 15.4% over last year and by more than 55% in the last four years. THANK YOU to all of you who have made this possible. You sure make it easy to love my job. I can't help but feel good knowing that with each percentage point increase we're able to help even more people.

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The Amazing Wintley Phipps singing Amazing Grace

As promised, here's Rev. Wintley.

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Techno challenged

Today my goal is to learn how to post a YouTube video on this blog. The other day I was reading one of my favorite blogs, Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish at Atlantic magazine's site, when I saw the most amazing video of Rev. Wintley Phipps, founder and president of the U.S. Dream Academy, singing Amazing Grace. I know that it's possible to post these videos on blogs as that's where I found it. I however, am at a loss on how to do it myself. So, the request is out to our staff Queen of Blogging, Katie, to help me out.

More to come on this amazing Amazing Grace and the U.S. Dream Academy's upcoming Power of a Dream Gala.

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Go Ashlei

Jody and Kathy Victor shared this nice note from the U.S. Dream Academy and asked I share it with you.

Kathy, we received a letter today from Ashlei Carlson the 11 year old daughter of Bob and Bobbie (Robert and Barbara of Hackettown NJ) - IBO's in your network.  She wrote a beautfiul letter to Wintley about how she had heard him sing and talk about the Dream Academy.  She said that as she talked to her mom to find out more about the Dream Academy she told her mom "more should be done for the children whose parents have made really bad choices which now means they might not have a chance to become the best they could.  I mean they need to have a dream and work towards that dream."  She went on to say that on the ride home from Virginia she tried to figure out what she could so.  So she and her friends started their own jewelry making business to raise money for children of prisoners.  She booked her first arts and craft show and made $100.00 which she sent along with the check.   We were so touched by her letter, the check and a picture she enclosed.  We scanned it and it is attached to the email.  I will also fax you a copy of the letter.  We should find a way to highlight this young lady's work through the Quixtar network. This really made our day!!!  Just wanted you to know.  The picture is great - Ashlei is on the left.  We are going to have Wintley send her a handwritten note to thank her.   Diane

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Detroit Tiger fans and Corporate Citizenship

What do these two things have in common? Well, yesterday it was Boston. I went to Boston to attend the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship conference and came home surrounded by a bunch of fun-loving Tiger fans who were mourning the Tiger's seventh loss in a row. Red Socks 5. Tigers 0. It was shut out at the game but not at the conference.

I'd say that all who attended the conference would be winners. Corporate citizenship as a field of study and a career field is relatively new. The conference brought together those who study the topic with those who are out in the field practicing and developing corporate citizenship. I found the conference to be quite interesting. There are a whole lot of companies out there doing a lot of wonderful things for their communities and there is a whole lot to learn from each.

My focus was on gaining tips and tools to increase engagement with our One by One Campaign for Children as well as to get a general sense of how the public perceives corporate involvement in world and societal issues.

I know we spend a lot of time talking about our corporate reputation - much of which surrounds Google search term results. I envision a day when any of us says we're affiliated with Amway the person with whom we're speaking responds with "Wow, that's cool. You guys do so much for our community." And that when you Google Amway the results pull up all the stories of what good we're doing each and every day.

As far as those Tiger fans are concerned, even though this game didn't turn out the way they had hoped, their conversations clearly demonstrated their pride in their team.

They were funny guys. They flew out to the game to celerbate one of their 40th birthdays. I sure learned alot about gentlemen while sitting behind them on this flight. The conversation segued from Tiger's history to grooming concerns of middle-aged men. I had no idea that eyebrow waxing was so popular among men! I think there may have been some potential Tolsom customers in this crowd!

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Totally Green

OK...this is pathetic, but I just finished reading the most recent posts of my Ozone colleagues and I seem to now be suffering from comment envy.

I really do hope to hear from all of you out there in the Ozone blogosphere. Please feel free to share your thoughts, ideas and stories of what you and your team are out there doing in your communities.

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The U.S. Dream Academy Celebrates 10 Years

This year our One by One partner the U.S. Dream Academy is celebrating their 10th anniversary at the annual Power of a Dream Gala on May 21st. We're proud that the Dream Academy has chosen to honor our Executive Vice President Jim Payne at this year's event.

The U.S. Dream Academy is "asking all IBO’s to join our $10 for 10 campaign: $10 donation for 10 years of service.  The key to this campaign is multiplying your gift by 10 – we need you to find 10 other IBO’s who also want to help build dreams for the future of young children and honor Jim Payne."

IBOs are encouraged to ask 10, 20 or 100 others "who have a heart for children and ask them to donate at least $10 at our campaign website at http://IBO.Kintera.org/usdreamacademy.  IBO’s who donate at least $10 will be listed on a special commemorative page for Mr. Jim Payne in our Program Journal as well as listed on our website. 

Our goal for this campaign is to match the $25,000 contribution made by Quixtar for 2008.  We need 2,500 IBO’s to donate at least $10 each to raise $25,000! The total of $50,000 will go directly toward providing children living in high-risk communities an opportunity to realize their dreams through skill building, character building and dream building activities in a safe, nurturing environment."

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Calling All Houston Area IBOs

Easter Seals invites you to attend a celebration breakfast.

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How does a company's good citizenship affect your buying habits?

According to a study released by Edelman 85% of consumers are willing to change brands or their consumption habits in order to make the world a better place.

Today my colleague Jesse from Alticor Corporate Citizenship forwarded some bullet points of the study my way. In addition to the statistic above, the study found that:

• Globally, "helping others and contributing to the community" is second only to "spending time with family and friends" as sources of consumer contentment.
• 78% like to buy brands that make a donation to worthy causes.
• 67% of consumers would rather see brands spend more money on good causes and feel that too much money is spent on advertising and marketing.
• 70% of consumers say they would be prepared to pay more for a brand that supports a good cause they believe in. More than seven in 10 (73%) would be prepared to pay more for environmentally friendly products.
• Consumer awareness of brands that support good causes is relatively low worldwide. Brands have an opportunity to more effectively engage consumers with their work in social purpose and make a bigger impact on issues that matter to them.
• 61% of consumers say "a person like myself" is the most credible source of seeking information about brands that support a good cause.

This got me to wondering what you as IBOs have heard from your customers about the same issues. Do your customers ask about what you or Quixtar/Amway do to make the world a better place? Has this information influenced their decision to purchase products? What causes are most important to your customers or those you sponsor? Do you share information on the One by One Campaign for Children? Does this have any impact on your customers?

I'm also interested in learning what you might need from us so that you gain a better understanding of the One by One Campaign and the causes associated with it? This year I plan to develop some training and education resources regarding One by One here in the U.S. I want to be sure that I include information you and your customers will find useful.

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Helping people live better lives.

That’s what we do. We do it by offering a low-cost business opportunity accessible to all. But more importantly, we do it by contributing to the communities in which we do business.

That’s just the way it is and has been for Quixtar, Amway, our employees, IBOs and founding families. We have a history of not talking too much about the good we do here in Michigan where we have our headquarters and in communities around the world, but we’ve learned that people want to know what we’re doing.

Consumers believe that companies should be helping people live better lives. That’s why in 2003 we launched the One by One Campaign for Children. We wanted to focus our philanthropic activities globally on improving the lives of children.

Since the launch of One by One the Alticor family – Quixtar and Amway business owners, employees, affiliates and customers – have contributed more than $50 million worldwide, volunteered more than 800,000 hours and have provided hope and opportunity to more than 5 million children.

In the U.S. Quixtar has had a relationship with Easter Seals for more than 25 years, long before we launched the One by One Campaign, donating thousands of volunteer hours and contributing more than $28 million.

In the U.S. we’ve also supported the U.S. Dream Academy’s programs for at-risk youth. We’ve donated millions of dollars worth of toys and gifts to the Today Show’s annual Christmas toy drive. We’ve supported the disaster relief efforts of the American Red Cross and IBOs have been strong supporters of World Vision’s child sponsorship program.

Quixtar and Easter Seals Canada also have a long history together. Since 2003 Quixtar Canada has raised more than $156,000 for Easter Seals. Quixtar Canada is a national sponsor for The Drop Zone, an Easter Seals fundraising activity that has people rappelling down skyscrapers. Now that’s commitment!

We’re proud that we’ve been recognized for making a difference for children around the world. In 2005 the campaign received three major awards: The International Business Awards™(Stevies) “Best Corporate Social Responsibility Award”, The Direct Selling Association “Vision for Tomorrow Award”, and The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Center for Corporate Citizenship “International Corporate Social Responsibility Award”.

I’m sure this only covers a fraction of what our IBOs and employees do on a daily basis within their own communities. It’s hard to get them to talk about their efforts. You see, they don’t do it for glory or recognition; they do it because that’s just what you do. It’s a core value. You share your success. You take care of your neighbor. You help others live better lives.

If you want to learn more about the One by One Campaign for Children, visit www.amwayonebyone.com.

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Grab your sneakers Birmingham, Dallas, Ft. Worth and Youngstown!

Easter Seals kicks off this season's Walk With Me events this Saturday in Birmingham, Alabama. On Saturday, March 8th, the communities of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas and Youngstown, Ohio will join in the fun by hosting their Walks.

Participating in Walk With Me is a fun and easy way to help children and adults with disabilities in your community. All money raised stays in the your town to support the programs of your local Easter Seals center.

If you live in one of the towns listed above, it's not too late to participate. You can learn more about your local walk by visiting www.walkwithme.org.

April walks are scheduled in Daytona and Sunrise/Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

May brings walks to Mystic, Connecticut; Deland, Melborne, Flagler, Tampa and Titusville, Florida; New Orleans, Louisiana; Wilmington, North Carolina; and Rochester, New York.

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Golfing for good

Today I want to pass along some information sent to me by Dan Recht husband of IBO Jennifer Waxman.

Dan and Jennifer support an organization called the Denan Project, a non-profit that provides health care and hope to the citizens of a remote village in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia. Ogaden borders Somalia and is home to many refugees. The area has been plagued with drought and famine and civil unrest.

To raise funds for their efforts, the Denan Project is hosting a golf outing on May 14 at Apple Ridge Country Club in Mahwah, NJ. All are invited to attend.

I'm happy to share information such as this. Feel free to email details to onebyone@quixtar.com.

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Bogus Internet Charity Scam Claiming Ties to Amway

The internet is a wonderful thing yet does provide some with less noble goals the opportunity to take advantage of others. Amway recently became aware of an internet scam that invokes our name. Below is copy of an announcement we're sending out to the media, employees and IBOs worldwide.

WARNING 

Amway Corporation (Quixtar in the U.S. and Canada) has discovered an internet scam that uses a bogus Amway charity as a lure.  Amway cautions individuals to be on the lookout for e-mails from a group calling itself the “Amway Children Charity Foundation”. 

Please be advised that this is not an Amway-sanctioned program and the name, program and people indicated in the e-mails are not related to Amway in any way and do not have Amway’s authority or support. 

The goal of the scam is to trick people into sending money to the fraudulent charity. The bogus group sends an e-mail informing the recipient that he/she has been selected as a recipient of a grant to help establish a children’s help center to assist poor children in the area.  A nomination code number may be given, and banking information is requested. If the recipient responds, an indemnity bond of several hundred euros is demanded. The e-mails may be signed from “Dr. Kevin Brown” or someone else claiming to be a grant processing officer.

Fraudulent activities involving payment or release of personal financial information can be committed electronically from a remote location, including overseas. Committing these activities in cyberspace allows scam artists to act quickly and cover their tracks before the victim becomes aware of the theft.

This type of fraud is identified by the FBI as an Advanced Fee scheme which occurs when the victim pays money to someone in anticipation of receiving something of greater value, such as a grant, loan or gift, and then receives little or nothing in return.

This "Amway Children Charity Foundation” scam has been circulated by e-mail in Europe, North America, Australia and Asia.  Recipients are advised to not respond or reply in any way. Amway is currently investigating the origin of the scam and authorities have been notified.  If you have information or questions about this scam, please contact Amway through its Corporate Communications Department at (616) 787-7565.

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Thank you 12,579 times!

Hey...I just learned that we've been up and opportunitying since this day last year. Woo hoo!

Time sure does fly when you're having fun. I hope that those of you who visit this blog do find something valuable to take away. My goal for this coming year is to try to cajole, coax, wheedle, persuade, and otherwise encourage you to share YOUR stories of what YOU'RE DOING to HELP YOUR COMMUNITIES.

I know you're all out there doing something.

So, thanks for reading my posts 12,579 times last year. Here's to many, many more.

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