“We are Flintstones kids, 10 million strong and growing!” how can anyone ever forget the catchy yet appropriate jingle celebrated in many households?
Flintstones is giving back through charity. The well-known children’s multivitamin brand has been dedicated to more than 40 years to helping children grow strong and healthy. The long driven charitable multivitamin company has teamed up with Vitamin Angels to launch 10 Million Stronger, a charitable initiative aimed at delivering essential vitamin A to 10 million children worldwide suffering from deficiency.
The lack of vitamin A worldwide in children is a serious health issue. However, the topic is unfamiliar to many. The deficiency can cause complications in children such as mortality and blindness. Fortunately, consuming two high-dose vitamin A capsules can provide adequate amounts of vitamin A in children for 12 months.
Flintstones donated $300,000 to Vitamin Angels in 2012 to help fund essential vitamin A for more than 1 million children in need. Individuals can still partake by donating 25 cents toward childhood vitamin A deficiency through Facebook. Recently, I interviewed Howard Schiffer, founder and president of Vitamin Angels.
Who will the 10 Million Stronger donations support?
Donations made to the 10 Million Stronger campaign will support the Vitamin Angels’ program reaching children under 5 in need of Vitamin A in over 40 countries around the world. These are children who have limited or no access to proper nutrition, and as a result often suffer mental and physical impairments, get sick more often due to a weakened immune system, and sometimes even die. For the children we are reaching, vitamin A can be truly lifesaving. Just one dose of vitamin A twice a year can reduce child mortality rates in at-risk populations by 24%, and our cost to reach one child for a whole year is just 25 cents.
How did Vitamin Angels first come about?
I founded Vitamin Angels in 1994 after the Northridge Earthquake in Southern California. I had been working in the natural products industry but had recently been looking for more purpose in my life. When I got a call asking if I could organize a donation of vitamins, the seed was planted. Today we’re reaching more than 25 million children in the United States and around the world! (Read our Founder’s Story >>)
How did Vitamin Angels come to team up with Flintstones Vitamins?
We were introduced by one of our Board members and it immediately seemed like a natural fit. With Flintstones leading the children's vitamin category, and Vitamin Angels getting vitamins to children and mothers around the world, it was easy to see the connection. Vitamin Angels is committed to giving children a chance to lead meaningful and productive lives. The 10 Million Stronger program seemed like a logical extension of our mission and their work.
Why do some children have vitamin A deficiency and others don’t?
Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) is, thankfully, not a problem in most developed countries because most children have access to proper nutrition either directly through foods containing vitamin A, like red & green leafy vegetables, or through foods fortified with vitamin A (milk, grains & cereals, etc). Globally however, 190 million children suffer from VAD. Many of the children we serve do not have access to proper nutrition, either vitamin A rich foods don’t grow in the region where they live, or their families cannot afford to buy them. The vitamin A we give to children in need is a concentrated high-dose formula which means they only need to take it twice a year rather than every day, another reason it’s such a simple and cost-effective solution to a major global health problem.
How can readers help support 10 Million Stronger?
Readers can support 10 Million Stronger by visiting the Flintstones Vitamins Facebook page to spread the word and make a donation – remember it only takes 25 cents to reach one child! They can also sign up for our e-newsletter or ‘like’ us on Facebook.
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