The sidewalk outside of Nu Skin’s corporate office was bustling Wednesday – but it wasn’t business as usual. All in matching white T-shirts, employees and volunteers were boxing food in assembly lines, scrubbing nearby sidewalks and munching on ice cream bars in the shade.
All were part of Nu Skin’s 10th annual Force for Good Day. In a single day of service, Nu Skin employees from across the world gave a part of their day to beautify and serve their local communities. In South Africa, workers stocked a new library with donated books, while another half dozen Nu Skin offices across Asia busied themselves making educational kits, assembling toys and holding clothing drives.
In Provo, volunteers focused on Utah County’s growing need of food and learning materials for underprivileged children. According to the Annual Report on Poverty in Utah, released by the Community Action Partnership of Utah, nearly half of all students in Utah County were enrolled in school-subsidized meals last year. More than 1,000 Nu Skin employees took 30-minute shifts out of their work day to assemble 10,000 lunch bags for kids to eat over the weekends and summer, in addition to making over 600 learning kits.
“This really is part of who we are,” said Kara Schneck, Nu Skin spokeswoman. “This day represents our culture and the mission of Nu Skin, which is to be a force for good.”
In an opening ceremony, civic and business leaders praised Nu Skin’s Force For Good Foundation, which sponsored the event.
“What a unique corporate culture we have here,” Nu Skin’s CEO Truman Hunt told the gathered crowd. “To engage in this day of good celebrates and demonstrates our mission to be a force for good in the world by improving people’s lives. And I challenge each of you on this day, and every other day, to reach out and touch the life of someone, on an individual basis, for good.”
Provo mayor John Curtis shared similar sentiments in his fourth year participating with Force for Good Day.
“(Provo) has a momentum that is unique,” Curtis said, referring to Provo’s recent successful projects with Google, UTA and others. “At the heart of so many of these good things is Nu Skin. We are blessed to have a company and employees who care so much about Provo.”
Curtis jested with the crowd about his favorite part of Nu Skin’s Force for Good Day – the 10-block cleaning of downtown Center Street.
“You know downtown is my hot button,” Curtis said grinning. “I can’t think of a better way to contribute.”
According to Schneck, over 10 tons of food were purchased by the Nu Skin Force for Good Foundation to make the 10,000 food kits. Each kit, meant for a child in need of a nutritious lunch, consists of Easy Mac and Chef Boyardee entrees with apple sauce, granola bars, juice and crackers on the side.
The kits and food will go to 10 local schools and be distributed by Community Action Services and Food Bank.
“Nu Skin has been a great partner with Community Action for many years,” said Craig Severinsen, director of communications for the local food bank. “They have been very generous donating all this food and it will go to help children in the community who might otherwise not have a meal.”
Community Action Services and Food Bank will receive all 10,000 bags of food and distribute them on a needed basis. According to Severinsen, last year’s donation from Nu Skin lasted almost the entire school year. Now, Severinsen and the foundation are looking to expand the program to 16 schools.
