The Healthy Foundation

I'm proud to serve on the Board of Directors of the Healthy Foundation, an innovative organization commited to building a healthy community and improving the health of individuals. The foundation supports a series of programs that provide daily nutritional support for groups at risk for nutritional deficiencies and malnutrition.

The Healthy Foundation’s primary program, Vitamin Relief USA-Operation IQ™ has been developed to reduce the effects of malnutrition by insuring that school children receive the daily nutrients required for their healthy growth and development. This way, these at-risk children will have not only their health, but also a greater capacity for academic success.

Of all groups at risk, children are the most vulnerable for nutritional deficiencies and also suffer the most severely from the effects of malnutrition. Inadequate nutrition during developmental years leads to poor academic performance, violence, aggression, and anti-social behaviors. It also contributes to chronic and acute illness and poor mental health. And it prevents children from reaching their full potential.

Vitamin Relief USA
Vitamin Relief USA was founded by The Healthy Foundation in August 1999 to provide daily multi-vitamins to the homeless. Within six months of its launch the Vitamins for the Homeless pilot program was implemented at the Prado Day Center for the Homeless in San Luis Obispo, California, where daily supplements were provided to the homeless at lunchtime. The results of the pilot report exceeded expectations, and The Healthy Foundation’s Vitamins for the Homeless™ program gained both local and national acclaim.

Children First™
In December 2000 foundation was able to introduce it’s first program for at-risk children: Children First™ in Santa Barbara, California, in collaboration with the Santa Barbara County Food Bank. In its first year of operation, , through donations of funds and supplements, Children First™ grew to serve over 6,000 at-risk children a day in 26 states. The success of the program gained national attention as the media, communities, and organizations began to recognize the positive and lasting effects of nutritional supplementation.

Congressional Funding
During this time, a grassroots lobby effort to gain Congressional support and funding for The Healthy Foundation and its programs led to an earmarked appropriation of $500,000 to study the impact of vitamin intake on at-risk youth. This was particularly exciting news since organizations as new the foundation are rarely awarded with Congressional earmarked funding.

Current Programs
The Healthy Foundation continues to grow and expand it multi-vitamin programs under the moniker of Vitamin Relief USA™. Vitamin Relief USA™ programs include:

• Children First™ & Operation IQ™ – which currently serve over 13,000 children a day in nearly 40 states at over 250 sites across the country.
• Better Student Research Initiative™ – a research project to study the impact of vitamin intake on the academic performance of at-risk youth.
• Senior Support™ – a one-year program providing vitamins to 1,100 at-risk seniors
  Vitamins for the Homeless™ – assuring that homeless adults have their basic nutritional needs met.

Healthy Foundation Awards
Most recently, The Healthy Foundation was awarded the Impact Award from the California Association of Non-Profits for the positive impact it has made in local and national communities with its creative and collaborative work fighting malnutrition.

The Dietary Supplement Education Alliance (DSEA) awarded the first annual “DSEA Heroes Awards” to The Healthy Foundation at the Natural Products Expo West on March 7, 2003, to honor the foundation’s important mission of improving the health status of thousands of at-risk children through vitamin supplementation across the nation.

How to Get Involved

If your or your agency would like to participate in these vital programs I strongly urge you please visit the Vitamin Relief USA website for more information: Vitamin Relief USA

The content provided by this site is for informational purposes only and has not been approved by the U.S. FDA.
This site is not intended to provide personal medical advice, which should be obtained from a medical professional.

©2011 cassmd.com. All rights reserved.