Industry Expands Hurricane Relief Efforts

Industry Expands Hurricane Relief Efforts

NEW ORLEANS & HOUSTONSeveralnatural products industry companies joined forces to bring relief to citizens,pets and fellow natural products companies affected by Hurricanes Katrina andRita in the Gulf States. Sending shipments of supplements, nutrition bars andbeverages, as well as collecting donations are a few of the ways industryplayers not directly affected by the disaster are mobilizing to help victims ofthe tropical storms.

One key player involved in relief efforts is Santa Barbara,Calif.-based Vitamin Angel Alliance (www.vitaminangel.org). The company workedwith a consortium of companies in the natural products and pharmaceuticalindustries, as well as relief organizations, local churches and emergencypersonnel, to help bring in emergency nutritional supplies including multiplevitamins and childrens chewable vitamins to victims in affected states.

Within 12 hours after the news on Hurricane Katrina broke,companies were calling us offering to help, said Howard Schiffer, president of the Vitamin Angel Alliance,which has collected more than 12 million vitamin supplements to benefit victims of the hurricanes. We nowhave authorization from the Department of Homeland Security to ship to allstates in the region. Weve had supplements shipped to the FEMA SpecialtyNeeds Centers in Louisiana and have now opened up distribution points inJackson, Miss.; Slidell, La.; Houston; Pearl, Miss.; and Baton Rouge. Vitamin Angel Alliance is also organizing shipments ofsupplements to benefit emergency personnel and relief workers dealing with theaftermath of the hurricanes.

To date, companies joining efforts spearheaded by VitaminAngel include Arizona Nutritional Supplements; Earth Power Inc.; Florida Distributors, General Nutrition Centers, GNLD Intl.;Healthy Horizons and Diamond Herpanacine Associates; Hero Nutritional Products;Highland Labs; Mason Vitamins; Nordic Naturals; NOW® Foods; Nutri-Force Nutrition;Nutrilite; Pharmachem Labs; Pharmanex; PL Development; Pro Health; Rainbow Light Nutritional Systems; Swiss Medica; Tishcon;Twinlab; and Vitatech Intl.

Our hope is that by donating nutritional supplements, itwill reduce or alleviate further illness or death caused by Hurricane Katrina, said Bruce McAdams, senior vice president of Pharmachem(www.pharmachemlabs.com), which has contributed various nutritional supplies toVitamin Angels relief efforts.Those affected are not eating correctly andthe conditions are ripe for disease. Basic nutrients are needed to survive. Withthe help of Vitamin Angel Alliance, we are shipping nutritional supplements towhere they are needed.

Natural products companies sending finished food and beverageitems to hurricane victims include Atkins Nutritionals Inc.(ANI), NaturesPath, American Longevity and Bio-Hydration Research Lab Inc. (BHRL). ANI donatedalmost two million of its Advantage® nutrition bars through Feed The Children(www.feedthechildren.org.), an international, nonprofit disaster and povertyrelief organization.

Companies sending beverages to hurricane victims includeAmerican Longevity and BHRL. In conjunction with the World BasketballAssociation (WBA) and pro-basketball player Theo Ratliff, American Longevity(www.americanlongevity.net) contributed several shipments of 16-oz. bottles ofRatliffs ready-to-drink signature sports drink, Rebound fxTropical Tirade,formulated with antioxidants, natural herbs and minerals.

BHRL sent bottled water to assist with hurricane reliefefforts.The company shipped 13 pallets, or 18,720 bottles, of Penta Water(www.pentawater.com), a highly purified drinking water, to the Red Cross inLouisiana. If theres ever been a need for clean water, its now for thevictims of this disaster, said William Holloway, chief executive officer(CEO).

Contributions to hurricane victims from natural productscompanies were not restricted to nutritional items. Natural cosmetics,antiseptics and analgesics have rounded out the inventory of items donated toaffected citizens. Himalaya USA (www.himalayausa.com) donated thousands of unitsof shampoo, conditioner and toothpaste from its HimalayaHerbals personal care line to Houston-area victims.

Natural antiseptics, botanical treatments and pain relieverswere donated by North American Herb & Spice. In addition, the companydispatched a representative on site to provide instruction on how to administerthe treatments as well as how to sterilize water.

Help extended to hurricane victims has not been restricted tohuman refugees. Planet Dog Philanthropy (PDP) and Old Mother Hubbard are amongthe natural products companies donating animal products to benefit creaturesinjured and displaced by the storms. PDP, the non-profit grant-making organization created byPlanet Dog, donated funds and organized a pet supplies drive to help petsthreatened by the hurricanes. Old Mother Hubbard shipped over 48,000 lbs. of dogand cat food and treats to animal shelters in affected areas.