Vitamin Angels Seeking Donations for Disaster Relief

Vitamin Angels Seeking Donations for Disaster Relief

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.--Following the earthquake and tsunamis thatdevastated parts of Southeast Asia in late December, a number of naturalproducts industry companies and organizations organized aid for the populations.One of the fastest responses was coordinated by the Vitamin Angel Alliance,which issued a call for donations of multivitamins for adults and children;within a week, the organization was well on its way to meeting its goal ofcollecting 20 million supplements.

"We were stunned by the generosity and immediacy of the response,"said Howard B. Schiffer, president of Vitamin Angel Alliance (www.vitaminangel.org)."Volunteers had cut short vacations to begin calling colleagues in thenatural products, vitamin and pharmaceutical industries. Many of our contactswere on vacation, but the people who were working said yes withouthesitation."

Among the donations were immediate support pledges and/or overnight shipmentsfrom Mead Johnson, Healthquest, FDC Vitamins, Mason Vitamins, Tishcon,Pharmachem, Edward & Sons, Natural Factors, Hero Nutritionals and PacificInternational. In addition, Vitaquest International's Garden State Nutritionalscontract manufacturing division set up special production runs for adultmultiples and children's chewable multiples, produced under the Windmill HealthProducts brand.

In additional news, Cargill Inc. donated more than $1 million, includingdirect donations and employee matching gifts through the Red Cross and CARE, andannounced plans to provide up to $500,000 toward long-term construction effortsdirected by Cargill businesses in the affected regions. Also, RelivInternational Inc., a network marketer of dietary supplements, announced thecompany and its charitable organization, the Kalogris Foundation, have pledgedalmost $550,000 in dietary supplements and $50,000 in cash to the Red Cross.