Amway Awards $10,000 Positivity Project Grand Prize

ADA, Mich., Dec. 14, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to recognize and celebrate the impact that positivity makes in people's everyday lives, the Amway Positivity Project highlighted everyday stories of positivity by encouraging U.S. residents to submit their own stories of positivity. Twenty-five semifinalists were chosen by a panel of five judges including renowned composer, John Tesh. The 10 entries that garnered the most votes online from the general public were named as finalists.  Caitlin Boyle received the most votes and was named as the grand prize winner.

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Caitlin Boyle, founder of Operation Beautiful, was awarded a $10,000 positivity grant at the awards ceremony held during the "Christmas with John Tesh" concert on December 13, 2010, in Hagerstown, Md. The nine other finalists each received $2,500 to reward their accomplishments and help them pay it forward.

"At Amway, we see positivity everyday in our products, people and business opportunity and many of our Independent Business Owners regularly give back to the communities in which they live," said Steve Lieberman, Vice President and Managing Director of Amway North America.  "We are proud to announce Caitlin Boyle as the grand prize winner of The Positivity Project. Her work with Operation Beautiful is an excellent example of how positivity can make a big difference in the lives of young women."

Operation Beautiful was designed as a movement to end negative self-talk by leaving notes in public places for other women to find. It began with Boyle leaving positive messages on the mirrors of public restrooms and grew into a website and larger movement encouraging women all over the world to leave anonymous notes of positive encouragement.  Notes such as "you are beautiful just the way you are" and "smile – you're amazing" greet women across the country in an effort to make everyone feel better about their day.

To continue spreading positivity, Boyle has chosen to donate her award money to Girls on the Run International, a non-profit program that encourages preteen girls to develop self-respect and healthy lifestyles through running.

"The Positivity Project is a great example of how thousands of people can come together to do something positive." said Boyle. "I am so grateful to be chosen as the grand prize winner."

Amway will continue to encourage individuals to share stories about how the "Power of Positive" has changed their life or the life of someone they know by hosting an online Living Library of positivity at www.yourpositivityproject.com.

ABOUT THE POSITIVITY PROJECT

The Positivity Project is an extension of Amway's Power of Positive advertising campaign, which has appeared on TV, print and web for several months now, emphasizing that Amway is a company that has a positive impact on people's lives.

The Positivity Project is designed to help the "Power of Positive" turn into a movement — from an advertising campaign into something people are excited to learn about and share with others. Through the Positivity Project, Amway will rally people to recognize, celebrate, and embrace positivity as a tangible way to improve their lives and communities.

ABOUT AMWAY

Based in Ada, Mich., Amway is part of the Alticor group of companies, founded by the DeVos and Van Andel families. Alticor is the parent company of Amway, Access Business Group and Alticor Corporate Enterprises. The company offers consumer products and business opportunities, as well as product development, manufacturing and logistics services in more than 80 countries and territories worldwide. The company reported annual sales of $8.4 billion for the year ending December 31, 2009.

SOURCE Amway