ABOUT US  

Community Concern

  

AMWAY OPPORTUNITY FOUNDATION

 

 

Vision: Enable the less privileged child to lead a better life.

Mission: To be the front runner in providing opportunities for child education & health to attain economic independence – with special focus on the blind child.

 

 

ABOUT US

In all countries and territories Amway operates, it follows the principle of ‘giving back’ to society – which is carried out under the umbrella campaign, One-By-One. One-By-One calls all Amway Business Owners (ABOs), employees, affiliates and customers to ‘rally around and support one unified cause: improving the well being of children. Through this campaign we have the opportunity to make a real, lasting difference by making life better for children around the world’.

Amway Opportunity Foundation, or AOF for short, is responsible for Amway’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) plans and initiatives.

It is a registered non-profit organization registered under the Societies Act.

AOF is also registered under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act [FCRA], which means that it has the permission of the Government of India to accept foreign funds.

Donations to AOF are exempt under section 80 G of the Income Tax Act, which means that any donation to AOF draws a 50% rebate on income tax.

AOF is a decentralized organization that has 46 Local Implementation Committees (LIC) in as many cities. Each LIC comprises a mix of select Amway employees and distributors (in AOFs eyes, all Amway employees and Amway distributors are AOF volunteers – whenever and wherever there is an AOF event, both the distributor, as well as the employee contribute their time and efforts, unflinchingly).

Each LIC has the capacity to carry out 3-5 events and activities in a year – these could include organizing visits and donations to orphanages, organizing health camps for children from economically depressed sections, blood donation camps, celebrating Children’s Day either with children from economically depressed sections or from orphanages.

Each LIC tries to raise funds locally, which are then used in their city, thereby building-in an element of ownership.

To inculcate a sense of competition, AOF has also instituted a rolling shield which is given to the best LIC of the year.

Guwahati LIC was the recipient of the best LIC, in 2004. Salem LIC is the recipient for the year 2005.

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FACT SHEET

Amway Opportunity Foundation (AOF) is a registered non-profit organization which looks after Amway India’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

1996
Donates a state-of-the-art mobile dental clinic to the Rotary Club, Delhi Mid-town, for use in slum areas.
1997
Presents a 20-volume Braille set of the Webster’s Dictionary in English, to the Delhi Blind School.
1998
Commences National Project for the Blind Braille textbooks being printed for Rajasthan. Under this project, AOF brought out Braille textbooks for all blind-school going children in a state.
Endowment to the Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) Delhi University.
 
1999

Supports the National Braille reading contest held at Delhi. Braille textbooks for all blind school-going children Delhi.
Audio textbooks for Bangalore University Supports the Terry Fox run at Bangalore. This is an event organized around the world, in aid of cancer research.
 
2000

2nd National Braille Reading contest at Delhi.
Braille textbooks for Maharasthra, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
Supports the Karnataka Welfare Association for the Blind (KWAB) in conducting a cultural event in Bangalore.
Celebrates International White Cane day.
 
2001

3rd National Braille reading contest on Louis Braille day.
Donates a sum of Rs 30 lacs to Child Relief and You (CRY) after the Gujarat earthquake.
Braille textbooks for Punjab, Bihar, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.
Celebrates International White Cane Day, in 9 cities.
Sets up a specialized computer centre with the Ramakrishna Mission Blind Boys Academy (RKMBBA), Narendrapur, Kolkata.
Supports Dr. Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital in conducting communications workshops for the blind.
Teams up with Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) to set up 10 village libraries in Wynaad district, Kerala.
Distributes 1000 Braille kits for blind children in Kerala.
Makes possible the National Conference on Braille, in Delhi.
Supports Autism week in December 2001 in Delhi.
 
2002

4th National Braille reading contest.
Celebrates International White Cane Day in 10 cities.
Enables the state-level chess tournament for the blind, in Tamil Nadu.
Celebrates Children’s Day, in 11 cities, wherein AOF volunteers (Amway distributors and staff) take children from orphanages and homes for destitute children, to picnics, amusement parks or film shows.
20 blood donation camps held in the year
Organises a cataract operation camp at Surat - 120 free operations.
 
2003

5th National Braille reading contest in Delhi.
Braille textbooks for Rajasthan & Delhi (2nd time), Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh.

Free eye camps were held at Erode, Balasore, Delhi and Siliguri - over 25,000 persons had free eye check ups and around 500 free operations were carried out.
White Cane Day, where over 2000 White Canes were distributed to the blind.
Celebrates children’s day in eight cities.
Musical-nite fund raiser at Madurai. Proceeds pledged to the Indian Blind School at Madurai.
Holds over 50 Blood Donation Camps, with 5,000 donors – most of whom are Amway distributors.
Receives citation and award from the World Blind Union (WBU), in Dec 03. AOF is the only Indian NGO to be so recognized by WBU.
A series of fundraisers was held, by providing Hepatitis B vaccinations for the public. The proceeds of this used for child-related issues.
Surat Raktdaan Kendra and Madurai Medical college award AOF for BDCs it has held.
 
2004

Car rally for blind children at Surat, and Jaipur-foot camp at Balasore.
Fund-raiser musical nights held at Chennai, Coimbatore, Erode, Ranchi and Kolkata.
AOF volunteers at Guwahati collected and donated Rs 30,000 to the district administration to help combat the flood crisis in the north eastern state.
Braille textbooks for Madhya Pradesh.
Holds over 50 blood donations camps in 2004 as well. Receives two awards – one from Indian Red Cross Society, Orissa and the other from Central Red Cross bank, Cuttack.
Donates furniture and clothing to St. Michael Blind School Ranchi.
Children’s Day celebrated in as many as 35 cities.
Organizes heart-check up camp at village Charba, Dehradun.
Refurbishes Balika Niketan, the Home for the destitute girl-child at Dehradun.
 
2005
Donates group hearing system to the Red Cross Koshish School for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind at Amritsar, and musical instruments and toys to the Anubhab School for mentally challenged children. Study material donated to the Bhima Bhoi Blind School, Bhubaneshwar, and to the Blind school, Guwahati.
Funds raiser musical-nite at Guwahati, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat, and Rajkot, and at Lucknow (picnic), Siliguri and Bhubaneshwar (health camps)
45 blood donation camps held till Sep-2005
On occasion of World Health Day 2005 (April 7th) holds health camps at orphanages at Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Rajkot, Kurnool, Hyderabad, Chennai and Salem.
Constructing two blocks of an orphanage at Nagapattinam for Tsunami affected children
Celebrated International White Cane day in 16 cities, distributed 200 canes at each.
Celebrated Children’s day at 36 cities – free MMR camps at 8 and picnics and outings for orphans at 28 others.
2006 Donates appliances and furniture to orphanages and Guwahati, Kolkata, Kohlapur.
Upgrades two orphanages and Kochi and Lucknow.
Organised two typhoid camps at 15 cities across India.

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NATIONAL PROJECT FOR THE BLIND

Amway launched the National Project for the Blind in 1998, when it entered into a partnership with the Delhi-based NGO, All India Confederation of the Blind (AICB). In 2000, it entered into understanding with the Mumbai-based National Association for the Blind, India (NAB).

Under this project, AOF and AICB/NAB print and distribute Braille textbooks to all school-going children in a state. This partnership has printed and distributed Braille textbooks across the country. A total of 15 MoUs have been signed between AOF and its NGO partners. The states covered so far are:

  • Rajasthan
  • Delhi
  • Haryana
  • Punjab
  • Uttar Pradesh
  • Bihar
  • Maharashtra
  • Gujurat
  • Andhra Pradesh
  • Karnataka
  • Madhya Pradesh
  • Tamil Nadu
  • Rajasthan - second time
  • Delhi - second time
  • Punjab - second time

Besides the Braille project, AOF has also helped NGOs celebrate the International White Cane Day for the past 5 years. On this day, visually challenged take out a dignified procession and over 2000 White Canes are distributed.

AOF also had supported the National Braille reading competition for four years.

AOF has also helped the Ramakrishna Mission Blind Boys Academy (RKMBBA), Narendarpur (Kolkatta) to set up a computer centre. This is the first such computer centre for the blind in Eastern India. Set in a sprawling and green campus, this efficiently run institution has a host of facilities for its students, which includes music, crafts, vocational training, besides the routine classes. One of the various pressing requirements was a computer centre, which would enable students to pick up this much-needed skill.

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DONATIONS MADE BY AOF

  • In 1996 (two years prior to the start of commercial operations) Amway donated a fully-equipped mobile dental van to Rotary Club of Delhi mid-town.
     
  • In 1997, it donated a set of Webster’s Dictionary in Braille to the school run by the Blind Relief Association.
     
  • AOF volunteers donated sports equipment to the MGD School for the Deaf and Blind at Bhatinda.
     
  • AOF volunteers at Guwahati – comprising the local Amway distributors – collected and donated Rs 30,000 to the district administration to help combat the flood crisis in the north eastern state.
     
  • AOF volunteers and Amway distributors donated necessary furniture and clothing to St Micheal Blind School Ranchi. These funds were raised at a special film-screening in Ranchi which was supported by Amway distributors of Ranchi.
     
  • AOF donated study material and sports equipment to the NAB hostel for blind boys at Bhopal.
     
  • AOF donated a group hearing system to the Red Cross Koshish School for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind. Using an amplifier, this equipment enables 12 deaf persons/children to ‘hear’ lessons being imparted by teachers. These funds too, were raised locally by the AOF volunteers – Amway distributors.
     
  • Amway volunteers donated musical instruments and toys to the Anubhab school for mentally challenged children, Siliguri.
     
  • At Bhubaneshwar AOF donated Braille textbooks and other study material to the Bhima Bhoi Blind School, Bhubaneshwar, from funds raised by AOF volunteers of that city.
     
  • The January 26th killer-quake that rocked Gujarat in 2001 devastated almost the entire state. Tens of thousand lost their lives, uncounted others lost their homes. A whole slew of aid-agencies rushed into the beleaguered state, offering first aid, medicine, food, blankets etc.
    After sifting through a host of possible partners through whom Amway could channelise its relief money, AOF proposed that CRY would seem a preferred partner. AOF took a conscious decision to channelise Rs. 35 lacs that Amway distributors, employees and Awmay as a company, had collected.
    CRY utilized the Amway funds in the following villages of Anjar (Bhuj) and Dhrol (Jamnagar).
    • Rambav Rapar
    • Kuda Jampar Rapar
    • Kakavav Bhachau
    • Nilper Bhachau
    • Meghpar Bhachau
    • Saran Vandh Rapar
    • Trambau Rapar
    • Vanoi Rapar
    • Suvai Rapar
    • Gauripar Rapar
    • Naranpar Rapar
       
  • Amway raised close to Rs 50 lacs, post the Dec 2004 Tsunami that wrecked havoc on India’s eastern coast. Currently, it is jointly building a school-cum-orphanage-cum-old-age-home at Nagapattinam.

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AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

  • Presented the Millenium Outstanding Service Award 2000, by the All India Confederation for the Blind (AICB), in recognition for work carried out for the visually challenged.
     
  • The Indian Red Cross Society, Orissa awarded AOF a memento & certificate for conducting a mega-Blood Donation camp of 816 units on 4th May, 2003.
     
  • The Surat Raktdaan Kendra felicitated Amway India at their annual function on 5th Oct, 2003, for the largest number of donors at a Blood Donation Camp (BDC) held by any financial and commercial institution and industry. The Mayor of Surat - Snehlata Chouhan - presented a trophy and a certificate of appreciation.
     
  • Amway also received the Hajee Sulaiman Omar Memorial Ever Rolling Shield, by the Madurai Medical College. Amway was the ONLY corporate entity to conduct a BDC on such a scale - rest of the camps are held by educational institutions.
     
  • Presented an award by the World Blind Union (WBU), for sterling contribution to improve and elevate the quality of life of visually impaired children', at a function in Delhi on Dec 2nd 2004. The award included a citation and a large-sized statue of Saraswati, the Goddess of Knowledge, was presented by the Lt Governor of Delhi, Shri Vijai Kapoor. WBU is an apex body for the visually impaired that enjoys consultative status with the United Nations.
     
  • The Central Red Cross Bank, Cuttack awarded Amway Opportunity Foundation with a trophy and Certificate for contributing the highest number 400 units to their Blood Bank.

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ONE BY ONE

www.alticor.com/communities/communities.html

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'ADOPT' A CHILD

Adopt a Child - Project Muskaan

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CONTACT US

Amway India Enterprises
Express Trade Towers
9th Floor, Plot no.: 15 & 16
Sector - 16A
Noida (U.P.)
Tel.: +91-120-3096500
Fax: +91-120-3096552

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