Second Year of Amway Partnership Keeps Healthy Lifestyles Growing at Boys & Girls Clubs of America

ATLANTA, June 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) announced today it is launching the second year of a partnership with Amway to build community gardens across the United States. With the addition of five new gardens planned for 2011 there will be a total of 12 gardens created and maintained to date as part of the ongoing three-year Amway Positive Sprouts® program.  

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Gardens will be built by Amway and community volunteers at Boys & Girls Clubs during this summer and fall in five markets, including: Clifton, N.J.; Troy, Mich.; Cypress, Calif.; Sun Coast, Fla.; and Santa Monica, Calif. The Amway Positive Sprouts program is a national partnership with BGCA that incorporates the gardening expertise of the Green Education Foundation (GEF) to teach kids how to start and maintain their own edible gardens. An accompanying curriculum will educate youngsters about nutrition, organic gardening practices and cooking from the garden.

"Building community gardens perfectly aligns with Amway's goal to raise public awareness of the benefits of living a healthier lifestyle," said Jori Hartwig, Vice-President of Marketing for Amway. "Engaging kids in the fun of planting and nurturing a garden and teaching them how to use what they harvest gets them interested at an early age in incorporating fruits and vegetables into their diet."

Amway sells NUTRILITE®, the world's leading brand of vitamin, mineral, and dietary supplements, based on 2010 sales, and is the #1 online health and beauty retailer in America.

While this is the first national relationship with BGCA, Amway North America has partnered with several local Boys & Girls Clubs dating back to 1948. The partnership is only one of the ways the Amway One by One Campaign for Children® program helps disadvantaged children through hands-on engagement and financial support. Since 2003, the Amway One by One Campaign for Children has donated more than $141 million to children's causes and more than 2 million volunteer hours, touching the lives of 8 million children.

"Our relationship with Amway was a huge success in its first year and we are excited for the opportunity to continue educating Club members on the importance of healthy eating," said Judith J. Pickens, senior vice president for Boys & Girls Clubs of America's Program & Youth Development Services. "The Positive Sprouts program creates a fun learning environment while giving Club members access to fruits and vegetables needed to maintain a healthy diet."

The Positive Sprouts program supports BGCA's healthy lifestyle initiative to engage Club members in positive behaviors that nurture their own well being, set personal goals and commit to a healthy lifestyle to achieve great futures.  

The 2011 program will kick off June 11 in Clifton, N.J. For more information on the Amway and BGCA partnership visit http://bgca.org/meetourpartners/Pages/Amway.aspx.

About Amway and the Amway One by One Campaign for Children

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 Corporation, Access Business Group LLC 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 $9.2 billion for the year ending December 31, 2010. The Amway One by One Campaign for Children program (Amway.com/PositiveCommunities) builds local relationships that result in global impact. Through One by One programs, Amway, its employees, and distributors support hundreds of nonprofit organizations in more than 50 countries working to address the full spectrum of children's needs. Our employees and Independent Business Owners have spent over 2 million hours volunteering to make life better for children around the world.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America

For more than 100 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (www.bgca.org) has changed and saved lives, enabling young people to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, some 4,000 Boys & Girls Clubs serve some 4 million children and teens through Club membership and community outreach. Clubs are located in neighborhoods throughout the country and on U.S. military installations worldwide, providing a wide variety of youth development programs conducted by trained, professional staff. Key programs emphasize academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. In a Harris Survey of alumni, 57 percent said the Club saved their lives. National headquarters are located in Atlanta.

About Green Education Foundation

Green Education Foundation (GEF) is a non-profit organization that provides environmental education resources for Pre K-12 classrooms and youth groups nationwide. GEF believes that what is healthy for the environment is healthy for kids, and promotes learning opportunities that develop sustainable habits of environmental stewardship in children and their communities. GEF couples standards-based curricula with active participation, acknowledging that children learn best through hands-on activities that enhance their critical thinking skills. GEF's National Green Week mobilizes thousands of students each year to participate in eco-challenges that empower school communities to achieve measurable and sustainable goals in waste reduction and energy conservation. Visit www.GreenEducationFoundation.org and register for free to gain full access to the GEF library of standards-based lessons and activities.

SOURCE Boys & Girls Clubs of America