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Bolivia Field Visit
 Last month Vitamin Angels headed to Bolivia with friends Marcia Furst and Tom Schott from the Vitamin Shoppe to view vitamin A distributions as part of Operation 20/20. The group met some remarkable children and mothers and was inspired all over again to continuing reaching the children most in need of vital nutrients.
Missed the updates? Check out our Notes from the Field (#1 and #2), Facebook and Twitter pages, and enjoy some wonderful new photos from the trip!
A special thanks to our partners in the field, World Concern, for your hard work and hospitality. And, as always, our thanks to photographer Matt Dayka.
Vitamin Angels is reaching 31,500 children in Bolivia with vitamin A this year, learn more about our Operation 20/20 projects here >> |
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 Up and Running in Haiti
This month Vitamin Angles sent a shipment of children’s multiple vitamins to Bumi Sehat Birth Clinic, a village-based organization in Jacmel, Haiti consisting of dedicated families, midwives, doctors, nurses, teachers and volunteers.
Bumi Sehat Director, Kelly Dunn, wrote to us of the conditions in the clinic, the ailments suffered by the children and how easily preventable many of the conditions are with the nutrients found in vitamin supplements. She writes, "yesterday 4 babies were born [here]... Many large NGOs are here still planning what they are going to do in Haiti, while we are firmly up and running. Word has spread to the mountains and women are coming with sick children and big bellies to receive our care." She goes on to explain that Bumi Sehat has just been certified as an educational NGO, "today we got the letter from the Minister of Education that we are now a certified educational NGO. We will continue to have classes on nutrition, healthy pregnancy, HIV and AIDS, sexual abuse, family planning and breast feeding. The students who graduate with us will become educators for their own community." |
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Help Vitamin Angels continue to reach children and mothers in the hardest to reach places around the world, and right here in the United States. Make a donation today!
To see more of our projects in countries around the world, learn about our partners and how many children we are reaching, check out our programs pages:
Operation 20/20 | Thrive to Five |
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 We would like to pay special thanks to those partners who have been especially generous in the recent months. Each and every supporter is truly valuable and makes our work possible; to see a list of all our donors, check out our Contributors page. |
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 Pharmachem Labs has been a long-time partner of Vitamin Angels’ beginning with their support of a multivitamin project in Tibet which grew to reach two million children per month through our partners at the Terma Foundation. Pharmachem went on to support our Thrive to Five project in the Dominican Republic where, in partnership with Tishcon and UNFI, we are connecting 55,000 school children a year with essential nutrients. Pharmachem’s generous contributions also supported Vitamin Angels’ former disaster relief efforts in Indonesia after the tsunami and domestically after hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Most recently, Pharmachem topped even their own exceptional contributions by pledging a $200,000 donation to Vitamin Angels for each of the next five years and thus becoming the founding member of Vitamin Angels’ Million Dollar Club. Vitamin Angels would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Pharmachem on its outstanding commitment to the cause and extend our warmest thanks. |
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| Looking for ways to get involved? Our website makes it easier than ever to make a difference and be part of the solution! Check out our Get Involved section for ideas. |
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 Join Team Vitamin Angels
Run, walk, bike or swim to help kids thrive worldwide! It’s almost summer, the perfect time to get moving and what better motivation to get in shape than helping to provide vital nutrients to children around the world.
That’s why we have launched Team Vitamin Angels. Visit our team homepage to get connected with training and fundraising tips and tools, pre-order our official team shirt and set up your own Personal Fundraising Page with your goal and race information.
You can also join our Team Vitamin Angels Facebook page to connect with other athletes in your area, ask our coaches questions and get inspired!
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Student Support at Newark High
 Last month, Emma Anderson and Lauren Spicer, two sophomore students at Newark High School in Ohio chose Vitamin Angels for their Human Rights and Making a Difference project. They presented their work in class along with some self-designed promotional materials including a t-shirt, brochure, magnet and keychain.
Thanks to Emma and Lauren for choosing Vitamin Angels; your enthusiasm and creativity are an inspiration. |
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Art for Vitamins
 If you’re like the Vitamin Angels staff, you certainly don’t need another reason to love avocados and guacamole. Fortunately, we have one for you anyway.
Yucatan Foods has signed on to become a sponsor of ArtForVitamins.com, a free website where individuals can test their knowledge of art and earn nutrients for children in need at the same time. For each piece of art you correctly match to the artist, Yucatan will sponsor one day’s worth of vitamins for an undernourished child.
Play Now! |
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Dear Friends,
By the time you read this, my five minutes of fame will be almost gone. If you are flying United this month, check out the article in Hemisphere’s magazine about Vitamin Angel's work. I keep thinking I should take another flight this month just to really enjoy the moment, but having just returned from New York, New Jersey (for the Vitamin Shoppe and Nature’s Value golf outing – was that incredible?!), Bolivia and Miami, I’m pretty much grounded for June. 
Seeing the poverty in Bolivia was shocking (it is the poorest country in South America – 52% of the people live in extreme poverty) but the real heartbreak is talking with women like Pauline who I met on the 2nd day, who had lost her baby at 2 months, or Rosemary (14 years) who lost her mom during childbirth three years ago and now has to take care of her three younger siblings. Both deaths were due in large part to chronic malnutrition and lack of accessible medical care. So unnecessary and so much more of a reason for Vitamin Angels to be there.
SIGHT AND LIFE notes in the opening article of their recent Annual Report that "the nutritional value of the diet we are on from the moment of conception up to 24 months – more than the energy value of the diet – determines irreversibly people’s mental and physical health for the rest of their life." That’s a pretty powerful statement – the vitamins are more important than the calories! Vitamin Angels knows this to be true, which is why giving just 2 vitamin A capsules yearly to children under 5 who are getting some food, (though for many it consists almost exclusively of corn or beans and rice, it provides little nutritional value,) will increase their chances of survival by 23%. It is clear when you are in a country like Bolivia, where the need for essential nutrients is so critical, what a simple opportunity there is to really make a huge difference in these children’s lives.
We now know that approximately 190 million preschool age children around the world are still vitamin A deficient. These are the 'under 5's' that Vitamin Angels is working to reach. This year, with your support, we are reaching 20 million of these children. We are on our way but we still have a lot of work to do.
Upwards!
 Howard Schiffer, President |
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"Global, regional, and national causes of child mortality in 2008"
The Lancet just released child mortality data for 2008. As the report states, "up-to-date information on the causes of child deaths is crucial to guide global efforts to improve child survival." The report is based on availability of more recent data and improved methods that enabled updated estimates of cause-specific child mortality and is expected to be updated yearly. Read More >> |
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Vitamin A handouts boost polio vaccine acceptance in Nigeria
An article released from IRIN earlier this month explained how the supplementation of vitamin A from Helen Keller International has led to an increase in acceptance of polio vaccines from parents for their children. As explained by the World Health Organization website… Read More >> |
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Vitamin Shoppe and Nature’s Value Golf Outing
 What a success! ! The Vitamin Shoppe and Nature’s Value Charity Golf Outing raised nearly $250,000 for Vitamin Angels, helping to ensure that an additional 1 million children receive the vital nutrients they need to grow up to lead healthy and productive lives.
It was the vision of Vitamin Shoppe and Nature’s Value to host a fun and meaningful event to inform, entertain, and provide a networking forum for their clients and partners, while also helping Vitamin Angels in not only reaching 20 million children this year with essential micronutrients but, as importantly, bringing the possibility of reaching 40 million children in 2011 within our grasp.
On behalf of the entire Vitamin Angels organization and the children we serve, we want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of the sponsors and individuals who helped make this event a reality! Check out more photos >>
Next year’s event is scheduled for May 23rd. If you are interested in participating or sponsoring, Contact us! |
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Summit of the Angels at the NBJ Summitt
 Save $200 off your registration fee for the NBJ Summit and reserve your spot at the Vitamin Angels wine and cheese opening reception on July 20th! Don’t miss it, Truth on Earth, an up and coming progressive social action rock group will be performing live!
Use promotional code: ANGELSNBJ10.
Register Today! |
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send to a friend
send to a friend
On June 18th (tomorrow!), we are spreading the message about our work providing nutritional support to those children in the hardest to reach, most remote areas who are not being served by their governments or traditional distribution systems. 
