The History of The MORE Project
The Founders’ Vision: To Give Back in Abundance
Beyond the vision of creating a world-class networking company, the founders of MonaVie (Dallin Larsen, Randy Larsen, and Henry Marsh) also shared the belief that their company should generate abundance in many forms—health, prosperity, and well-being to name a few. This also meant cultivating a culture in which giving back was a built-in principle governing the actions of distributors and corporate leaders alike. The founders made certain to ensure that both giver—the land from which the acaî berry was harvested—and receiver—Mona Vie and its distributors—shared in this abundance. With the benefits MonaVie and its customers were reaping from this rich, potent berry, the question became, “What is the best way for us to share this abundance with the country who gave us the acai berry?”
How Will We Give Back?
After rounds of in-depth discussion, the founders agreed that the most generous and meaningful way to give back was to bring hope to the citizens of Brazil whose circumstances prevented them from living safe, healthy lives and achieving their potential. The founders had strong reasons for deciding to give back in this way, the most pressing of which was the staggering needs of the 20+ percent of the population living in extreme poverty.
MonaVie Distributors and Miracles
Additionally, the founders believed that MonaVie distributors were uniquely suited to support this cause—because of the type of people they were. Qualities like compassion, drive, outspokenness, and the ability to unite others for a common cause were essential not just for building a MonaVie business but for making miracles happen in Brazil as well. The founders knew that in the same way they felt the desire to give back, many hard-working MonaVie distributors would share this sentiment. It was clear that MonaVie Corporation had determined a meaningful way to give back; now it was a matter of finding the organization that best represented these goals.
As Dallin (CEO of MonaVie and MORE Project founder) explains, “Soon after MonaVie began operations in January 2005, the company experienced tremendous growth. This fueled our sense of urgency to find a non-profit organization that we could partner with someone we believed could make a difference in children’s lives. It wasn’t long before we found an organization through Doug Roland, a MonaVie distributor. Through his own charitable work in Brazil, Doug met Sergio Ponce, who—led by the example of his mother Cecilia Ponce’s work—had built a hopeful and dedicated project on the outskirts of Rio.”
Dallin spoke with Sergio over the phone and was soon convinced that MonaVie had found the organization to support. “Sergio’s genuine love and steadfast commitment to the people of the favelas so impressed my wife Karree and I that we decided to sponsor his project and help establish it as an independent non-profit organization.”
Describing Sergio, Dallin explains, “His heart is pure, as are his motives and intentions. He has one purpose—to change a generation of God’s children who live in some of the most dangerous and desperate situations in the world by helping them find their vision and purpose.” Learn more about Sergio Ponce.
*You can read more about Sergio and The MORE Project in his recently published autobiographical memoir entitled: We Can Do So Much More. To request information about the book, email us at themoreproject@themoreproject.org
How MonaVie Supports The MORE Project
Dallin Larsen is clear when he states his own purposes for supporting the MORE Project: “It’s not intended to provide a marketing advantage for MonaVie. We have no interest in profiting as a company from the plight of children. In fact, as a company, we have made a commitment to pay 100% of the administrative costs of the MORE Project. This way, 100% of others’ contributions to this great cause go directly to the source. It’s a beautiful model. Most importantly, it’s a model that’s working!”
Indeed, since MonaVie founded the MORE Project has expanded its reach and scope in myriad ways, which simply means that more of the people in such extreme circumstances are being given the opportunities they would never have gotten otherwise, to change their lives and become productive, happy members of society.
