$100,000 Funded Thus Far in 2015 to Various Causes
San Diego, CA – June 8, 2015 – Youngevity International, Inc. (OTCQX: YGYI), a global direct marketer of nutritional and lifestyle products and also a vertically-integrated producer of gourmet coffees for the commercial, retail and direct sales channels, announced today that its charitable giving arm, Youngevity Be the Change Foundation has reached $100,000 in donations so far this year.
Youngevity Be the Change Foundation (“YBTC”), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization granted $17,000 in total donations over the last 30 days to one of their supported charities, The American Red Cross. The YBTC Foundation responded with a donation three separate times to aid three unfortunate and tragic events that occurred last month. “Our distributors and customers so earnestly wanted to help the victims of the Nepal earthquake, the Texas and Oklahoma Spring tornadoes and storms, and the Houston flood victims, that they purchased record amounts of YBTC designated products during the month of May, which triggered record donations to the Foundation,” said Steve Wallach, Youngevity International’s CEO and a Youngevity Be The Change Foundation Board Member.
The YBTC Foundation was formed just 19 months ago in September 2013 and has responded to many tragic events including the Colorado flooding, Philippines typhoon, California Fires, Washington floods, and now the Nepal Earthquake, Texas and Oklahoma tornadoes, and Texas Flooding. The YBTC Foundation also supports, The Wounded Warrior Project, The Make-A-Wish Foundation, My Story Matters as well as the families working on Youngevity International’s own coffee plantation in Nicaragua where it has made living condition improvements including participation in the creation of a hydroelectric plant that produces green energy, and opening a school for the children of the families that work on the plantation.
At Youngevity International’s recent March convention the YBTC Foundation presented $10,000 checks to the Wounded Warrior Project, Make-a-Wish Foundation and to My Story Matters. In addition to the financial support, the Foundation just concluded a six month clothing and shoe drive for the workers, families, and children who live on Youngevity International’s coffee plantation in Nicaragua.
“Our Foundation is unique because it is funded primarily by the purchase of Youngevity products that are designated Youngevity Be The Change Foundation products, and whereby Youngevity International generously donates 100% of the profit from these purchases to the Foundation,” explained Lisa Briskie, affectionately known as “Sunshine” to her family and the hundreds of thousands of distributors and customers who support the Foundation where she volunteers as the Foundation Director. “Volunteering is a core tenet of the Foundation”, she added, referring to the many Youngevity employees and distributors who band together and generously donate their time.
Mrs. Briskie continued, “We feel it is important that the Foundation operate without payroll expense or staffing overhead so that the money generated from the purchase of products goes nearly in its entirety to the charities we support.”
“There is a fine balance that exists between maximizing shareholder value and being socially responsible. We believe that the incremental revenue streams that we have created to fund the Youngevity Be the Change Foundation is an ideal model to reach this balance”, said Dave Briskie, President of the Youngevity Be the Change Foundation and CFO of Youngevity International.
Mr. Briskie continued, “We are proud of the overwhelming participation coming from employees, distributors and customers supporting the fine work of the YBTC Foundation and its charitable causes.”
About Youngevity International, Inc.
Youngevity International Inc., (OTCQX: YGYI) (www.YGYI.com ) is a fast-growing, innovative, multi-dimensional company that offers a wide range of consumer products and services, primarily through person-to-person selling relationships that comprise a “network of networks.” The Company also is a vertically-integrated producer of the finest coffees for the commercial, retail and direct sales channels. The Company was formed after the merger of Youngevity Essential Life Sciences (www.Youngevity.com) and Javalution Coffee Company in the summer of 2011, and changed its name to Youngevity International Inc. from AL International, Inc. in July 2013. For more information, visit www.YGYI.com or find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Youngevity or follow us on Twitter @youngevity https://twitter.com/youngevity
About Youngevity Be the Change Foundation
Youngevity Be the Change Foundation is the charitable giving arm of Youngevity International, Inc. Being The Change That is Needed In the World, the Gandhi quote that the Foundation took its name from, reaches beyond donating just money to its charities, it also encompasses coming together for the good of those in need in body, spirit and time and these actions are not scripted by the Foundation. The Foundation exists through the giving hearts of Youngevity’s employees, distributors, and customers. For more information about the Foundation or it’s charities, visit www.youngevitybethechange.org
Safe Harbor Statement
This release includes forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. In some cases forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “potential,” “continue,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” and similar expressions. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release include statements regarding the Company’s expected future growth, the timing of new collections and the success of the collaboration. These statements are based upon current beliefs, expectations and assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict. The information in this release is provided only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release based on new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.
Youngevity International
Investor Relations
John Zervas
800-982-3189 X 6509
