Melaleuca Donations Raise Spirits, Brighten Holidays for Families in Need

This holiday season, Melaleuca has reached out to communities near and far, helping less-fortunate families by providing them with groceries, meals, supplies, toys, products, and helping hands. During this time, Melaleuca, its employees and Marketing Executives, and the Melaleuca Foundation’s combined efforts have donated more than $110,000 to families in need.

Melaleuca donations provide Christmas gifts to families

After Thanksgiving, Melaleuca Global Headquarters was filled with the holiday spirit. Bright Christmas trees dotted the campus and glittery reindeer topped the tables. But the most anticipated tree wasn’t covered in fancy ornaments; instead, it was decorated with individual tags listing the ages of children who had been identified by The Salvation Army. These tags were selected by Melaleuca employees who volunteered to shop for a gift with their chosen child in mind.

Melaleuca Team Members played the role of Santa’s elves. This beloved annual tradition demonstrates how much our employees love to feel the joy of giving.

Donations were placed under the Christmas tree. Treasures included new skateboards, Nerf guns, doll houses, gift cards, clothing, boots and teddy bears, all destined for hopeful children. Melaleuca delivered these gifts to The Salvation Army, who handed them out to families who needed our assistance on Christmas morning.

Melaleuca rallies to feed the hungry

This year’s Melaleuca food drive was our most successful ever, raising tens of thousands of dollars for hungry families! Employee giving was at an all-time high during this holiday.

This successful program was largely driven by a group of competitive Team Members in the International department who challenged opposing departments to see who could raise the most money each week. Spirits were equally high in the IT, Sales, Customer Care departments. High stakes – such as taking pies in the face, eating ghost-pepper almonds, and participating in the “stinky fish challenge” as seen on YouTube – upped the ante between departments.

Spurred on by healthy competition and a great cause, Melaleuca Team Members raised more than $34,228 for food banks. The Melaleuca Foundation matched their generosity dollar for dollar, bringing the total amount raised to $68,456. The majority of these funds will transform the Community Food Basket of Idaho Falls for years to come. A news release with the details will be published about this donation.

Wayne Billman, a vice president in the company’s International department, was integral in creating incentives across departments to increase donations.

“At Melaleuca, we care about our customers, and we care about our community,” Wayne said. “This is just another example that shows we’re part of something bigger than ourselves. We’re part of a noble mission that enhances lives.”

Holidays feasts made possible through Melaleuca’s contributions

Some of these funds bought the groceries for a delicious Thanksgiving feast that fed the elderly, disabled, homeless, and less-fortunate families within the region. As a result, 800 people were treated to this free holiday meal, which included classic favorites such as turkey, mashed potatoes and other traditional trimmings.

Dozens of meals were driven to individuals who could not leave their homes.

This community meal was coordinated through The Salvation Army. According the Captain John Birks, the need for a helping hand has never been greater, and Melaleuca’s desire to cover the expense was a blessing for everyone.

In addition to paying for this Thanksgiving meal, Melaleuca, Inc. donated $8,800 in hams and turkeys to the Idaho Food Bank, helping families with their Christmas feasts. This nonprofit, which is a member of the Feeding America’s nationwide network, made sure the turkeys and hams were given to families who truly needed a little extra on Christmas day.

Filling up the Food Bank Warehouses

On top of raising money, The Melaleuca Foundation was busy throughout the month of November in filling up food bank warehouses with canned food.

The Melaleuca Foundation was both the main financial sponsor and promoter for two critical regional food drives. We created radio advertising spots that promoted the JustServe.org and Scouting for Food drives, encouraging the public to drop off donations at dozens of locations.

As a result of our community outreach efforts and the public’s generous response, Melaleuca helped to fill up several food warehouses and food pantries to the max right before Thanksgiving.

Rushing to support families coping with natural disasters

Equally important, Melaleuca, Inc. and the Melaleuca Foundation rushed to the rescue of families in crisis in both the Midwest and Canada.

In December, several tornadoes ripped through Kentucky and neighboring states in the Midwest and South. They tore a path of destruction, leaving houses ripped from foundations, cars flipped, lives lost and many unaccounted for.

As volunteers began the rebuilding process, the American Red Cross partnered with Melaleuca to get high-quality, healthy snacks in the hands of the displaced victims. Melaleuca employees at the distribution center in Knoxville, Tennessee, quickly shipped 3,000 Simply Fit™ Bars to provide comfort to those staying in the shelters.

Meanwhile, further north in Canada, the Melaleuca Foundation donated and delivered $30,000 of EcoSense® cleaning supplies to families dealing with repeated flooding in British Columbia. These cleaning supplies were assembled by a team of volunteers into “Christmas Hampers,” along with locally donated baked goods, clothes, treats and Christmas gifts.

Anyone who had been affected by the flooding was welcome to pick up a Christmas Hamper and enjoy a sense of community.

Tears filled the eyes of recipients as several Melaleuca Marketing Executives filled car after car with these donated gifts.