Vitamin Information Center

DALLAS, TX — The Aidmatrix Foundation Inc. today announced its partnership and achievements with Vitamin Angels in expanding the supply chain for humanitarian relief. This partnership helps streamline Vitamin Angels’ distribution processes which, in turn, helps serve more people in need. Since the program was launched more than 28 million vitamins have been processed using this new system.

Vitamin Angels supports many nonprofits who address malnutrition in children and adults around the world. Aidmatrix builds powerful supply-chain technology solutions to accelerate humanitarian relief through its partnering nonprofits. This partnership enhances both missions.

“Aidmatrix is providing an essential link in allowing Vitamin Angels to reach children and pregnant women who are chronically malnourished in the United States and around the world. Our partnership will help tens of thousands of children to have a healthier life,” said Howard Schiffer, President and Founder of Vitamin Angels.

There are now more than 37 nonprofit organizations registered as recipients on the Vitamin Angels’ Portal on the Aidmatrix Network®. To date, 38 donations from 12 donors are in the system. One of the first organizations to benefit from the Vitamin Angels’ Portal was Orphan Outreach in Honduras, where more than 1,700 children received a year’s supply of multi-vitamin supplements. Another organization to benefit was the San Diego Food Bank, which received more than 800,000 vitamins. In total, more than 28 million tablets have been processed since the program began.

Vitamin Angels is a nonprofit organization based in Santa Barbara, California, that is dedicated to providing vital nutrition in the form of supplements, to developing countries, communities and individuals in need. The Aidmatrix Network® technology and members will help accelerate the distribution of the vitamins in two key ways: first, donors that make product donations to Vitamin Angels will now be able to make their donations online through this integrated system; second, Vitamin Angels will be able to allocate those donation offers electronically to their community of recipients. Previously, both processes were done manually, requiring much time and resources to coordinate. In addition, Aidmatrix brings more potential recipients to the community through its partnerships with other leading medical- and hunger-relief organizations.

“Our solutions help others to get the right aid to the right people,” commented Governor Scott McCallum, President and CEO, Aidmatrix Foundation. “We’re proud to partner with Vitamin Angels in their mission of supplying medical relief to those in need.”

About Vitamin Angels
In the last 3 years, Vitamin Angels has distributed over 300 million vitamins and other supplements in over 80 countries worldwide. Last year, Vitamin Angels connected vitamins and other supplements with over 7 million children, lactating mothers and babies in 40 countries worldwide. To learn more about Vitamin Angels please visit www.VitaminAngels.org.

About The Aidmatrix Foundation
The Aidmatrix Foundation, Inc. builds and operates powerful technology hubs that support diverse stakeholder groups in their efforts to work together to solve the world’s most challenging humanitarian crises. Our solutions enhance participation, amplify contributions, and accelerate results for humanitarian relief. More than 35,000 leading corporate, nonprofit and government partners leverage our solutions to mobilize more than $1.5 billion in aid annually, worldwide. The donated goods, money and services impact the lives of more than 65 million people. Aidmatrix is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit headquartered in Dallas, Texas, USA, with offices in Germany and India.
www.aidmatrix.org

If Pune becomes a welcome addition to the list of those cities around the world that have been freed from Vitamin A deficiencies, it will have Vitamins Angels to thank for this achievement. Every person has a right to vital nutrition. That’s the motto of Vitamin Angels, an organization primarily based in Santa Barbara, California. Howard B Schiffer, an ad-executive-turned-good-samaritan founded Vitamin Angels. Often called the humanitarian arm of the natural products industry, Vitamin Angels has distributed more than three hundred and fifty million vitamins and other supplements to people in need in 82 countries around the world. Their program in and around Pune is part of Vitamin Angels’ Operation 20/20 global campaign to eradicate vitamin A deficiency on the planet by the year 2020.

The team from Vitamin Angels was in Pune last month. They were accompanied by Milind Shah, who runs the Vitamins Angels’ Operation 20/20 campaign in Pune and surrounding regions.

Currently reaching 70,000 children in this area, Vitamin Angels supply children with high dose Vitamin A and de-worming medicine two times per year - once every 6 months. The pills are generally given to the children in the first five years of their lives, the time when they are the most vulnerable. Vitamin A capsules were distributed along with de-worming tablets to prevent parasites consuming Vitamin A before the child could absorb it. Other than that, worm infections also have serious health repercussions for a growing child. “The result,” Schiffer says, “is a 23 per cent increase in their survival rates. Vitamin A programs also reduce clinic visits by 27 per cent and hospital visits by 38 per cent. So not only will this program stop the children from going blind due to Vitamin A deficiency but it will also improve their health by bolstering their immune system and at the same time, lower the burden on the public health care system.”

“The government in Pune has been supporting our Vitamin A / Childhood Blindness Prevention Campaign and held an event for us this year in Pune to applaud our efforts. This unique partnership between private enterprise, public institutions like the Ministry of Health, and non-government organizations, is showing India a new way to address the major health problems endemic around the country,” adds Schiffer.

Their partners in Pune are Milind Shah’s NGO, Deepak Shah’s Sakalp Foundation and the Municipal Government. Milind Shah says, “Vitamin A and de-worming distribution as part of Operation 20/20 is presently reaching 70,000 children in areas like Baramati, Jalgaon and areas that fall under the Pune Zilla Parishad. Every year we receive about 140,000 tablets from Vitamin Angels.”

Upon their visit here, Schiffer was awarded an appreciation award for his collaboration by the city government. Shah also added that Vitamin Angels plan to increase the number of tablets to five lakh in the coming year. Here in Pune, the distribution was also coordinated by Dr Rashmi Gapchup. Vitamin A is critical for vision, bone growth and normal bodily development and its deficiency does its worst damage during childhood and is a major contributor to child mortality and illness. The most commonly known effect of vitamin A deficiency is blindness. Vitamin A supplementation can reduce child mortality by as much as 23-24 per cent.

Vitamin Angels have been working in India since 1996 and this program has been running since 2004. “Our commitment, other than seeing the children every sixth months, is working with the government in Pune to address the other factors that will build long term health like clean water, sanitation, hygiene and sanitation,” says Schiffer. Pleased to be working in Pune, what motivates Schiffer the most is helping the children have a better chance at a healthier life.

“Vitamin Angels always feels that India has some of the largest problems and the biggest challenges in the world (distribution logistics, corruption, geography, population, etc). We know that if we can make a program work in India, we can easily scale it up anywhere else in the world. Our Operation 20/20 campaign which is now operating in 17 countries around the world and reaching 7.5 million children was modeled after the India Vitamin A / Childhood Blindness Prevention Campaign. Vitamin Angels is now reaching 1.1 million children, nursing moms and babies in India,” he concludes with satisfaction.

Core Naturals, the nutritional company responsible for introducing Salba, the ancient Aztec “Superseed,” to the US, has partnered with Vitamin Angels, the unique non-profit organization dedicated to providing vital nutrition globally for more than 14 years. Salba is the richest whole food source of omega 3 and fiber found in nature, and is the star in Core Naturals’ Seeds of Mercy Program.

Winter Springs, FL, May 28, 2008 –(PR.com)– Core Naturals, the Florida-based nutritional company who brought Salba to the United States, is proud to announce their partnership with Vitamin Angels, the unique non-profit organization dedicated to providing vital nutrition in the form of supplements globally for more than 14 years. Core Naturals has quickly established an excellent reputation as a developer and marketer of premium ingredients for the nutrition, nutraceutical, and functional food markets, and in keeping with their bent toward innovation has created the unique “Seeds of Mercy” Program. The Vitamin Angels are devoted to providing basic nutrition to developing countries, communities, and individuals in need. The organization has set its sights on the issue of childhood blindness, with plans to eliminate this condition by the symbolic year 2020, through the distribution of Vitamin A to at-risk children around the world, through their current campaign, called Operation 20/20.

Core Naturals’ CEO, Mitch Propster, shares in this worthy mission, which is harmoniously in line with his company’s own goals to help provide nutrition globally. That is why Core Naturals has decided to announce their alliance with Vitamin Angels at Expo West show by creating their own unique program called “Seeds of Mercy.” This program is designed to bolster the success of the Vitamin Angels organization by securing contributions from the sales of Salba products. By educating the public about Salba, the company can simultaneously educate them about the mission of Vitamin Angels.

Core Naturals has made a pledge and a sincere promise: Every time a bottle of Salba Whole Seed, or Salba Ground Seed, is purchased, Core Naturals will donate .25 cents to Vitamin Angels, the amount that the Vitamin Angels organization has specified can help one child from blindness. Over the course of four years, when children are most vulnerable, the Vitamin Angels’ total expense is $1. This covers the cost of two high dose vitamin A and anti-parasitic supplements given each year to a child from the ages of 2 to 5.”Malnutrition is the underlying cause of half of all deaths of children under the age of 5 and Vitamin Angels provides a low-cost, low-tech solution to this major global health problem. Vitamin A supplementation is proven to be a contributing factor to the dramatic decrease in worldwide deaths among children under the age of 5,” says Howard Schiffer, president of Vitamin Angels, the only group organized to completely eradicate vitamin A deficiency on the planet by the year 2020. “All the donations will help fight the global malnutrition epidemic and save the lives and eyesight of children around the world.”

About Vitamin Angels

Vitamin Angels is the only non-profit entirely dedicated to providing vital nutrition, in the form of vitamins and supplements, to those in need, both internationally and domestically. In the last 3 years, Vitamin Angels has successfully distributed more than 300 million vitamins and other supplements, in more than 80 countries worldwide. To learn more about Vitamin Angels and Operation 20/20, visit www.VitaminAngels.org.

About Core Naturals

Core Naturals is on a mission of locating and authenticating the latest in nutritional science and proprietary formulations. They specialize in those nutrients that respond to consumer market trends, as demonstrated by the successful launch of their flagship product, the ancient whole grain “superseed” called Salba. For additional info, visit www.salba.com or call 1-888-499-8665.

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