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The MORE Project and the Utah Nonprofits Association Name Recipients of the Heart & Hands Award

[Salt Lake City, UT] – January 8, 2008 – The MORE Project, in partnership with the Utah Nonprofits Association, recently honored Brig and Lita Hart with the first ever Heart & Hands Award. The award acknowledges the Harts’ outstanding contributions to the MORE Project, a charitable organization founded to help disadvantaged children in Brazil.

“In life, there are lifters and there are leaner’s. Brig and Lita Hart are lifters of others. Through their generous contributions to the MORE Project, whose funds go to provide food, shelter and education to some of God’s most impoverished children living in the slums of Brazil, Brig and Lita Hart are bringing hope to an otherwise hopeless situation. They live by the adage that when you become blessed, you should become a blessing. Their lives are evidence that moving from success to significance is the recipe for living an abundant life,” stated Dallin Larsen, CEO of MonaVie.

The Harts have been instrumental in securing significant numbers of new donors from those within their MonaVie organization, and have committed to making the initiatives of the MORE Project a priority in 2009.

Katy Holt-Larsen, executive director of the MORE Project, shared “Brig and Lita Hart have made an extraordinary commitment to making a difference in the lives of impoverished children and families through the MORE Project community. They have given not only through personal contributions, but also through providing leadership and encouraging others to give.”

The couple was honored at a special celebration on Utah Philanthropy Day, where the Utah Society of Fund Raisers and the Utah Nonprofits Association recognized prestigious members and organizations in the Utah community. Among those celebrated were Jon and Karen Huntsman, Sr.; Harris and Amanda Simmons; and the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation.

“It is hoped that the giving of the Heart & Hands Award will inspire other individuals and organizations to respond to community concerns, acknowledging and addressing the need for change,” says UNA rep.

For more information about the MORE Project, visit www.themoreproject.org.

[Salt Lake City, UT] – October 28, 2008 – MonaVie (www.monavie.com), maker of the premier blend of the Brazilian acai berry, names Sergio and Silvia Ponce recipients of its first annual Doing Good in the World Today award. The award recognizes the Ponce’s outstanding contributions to the MORE Project, a charitable organization founded to help disadvantaged children in Brazil.

“When you are blessed, you are obligated to become a blessing,” says MonaVie Founder and President Dallin Larsen. “MonaVie distributors have taken this message to heart, and for this reason, we have implemented the Doing Good in the World Today award. We are proud to recognize Sergio and Silvia Ponce, whose efforts with the MORE Project set the standard for becoming a blessing to those in need.” Sergio Ponce, an orthodontist who gave up his practice to make a difference in the lives of Brazil’s poorest residents, has been working with the MORE Project for three years. “Sergio is an amazing human being,” says Katy Holt-Larsen, executive director of the MORE Project. “He is filled with love — for his country and for the people of Brazil. He cares about the poor that society has left behind, and has made it his life’s mission to touch the souls of motherless children, widows, and others who are disadvantaged. If he can make a difference in someone’s life and help them change for the better, he feels fulfilled.”

About MonaVie LLC

MonaVie LLC is a rapidly growing company that distributes products to markets around the world. Introduced in January 2005, MonaVie develops and markets scientifically formulated, premium quality products, specifically for person-to-person distribution. Developed with a philosophy of Balance-Variety-Moderation, MonaVie brand products deliver phytonutrients and antioxidants to promote and maintain a healthy and active lifestyle.

About the MORE Project

The MORE Project seeks to change lives and restore families living in poverty in Brazil. The MORE Project focuses on providing individuals with skills, resources and support so they can free themselves and their families forever from the cycle of poverty and begin new lives filled with hope, health and dignity.

For more information about the MORE Project, visit www.themoreproject.org.

96 SUCCESS FROM HOME Volume 4 Issue 11 Love ToVila Ipiranga, with by K.C. Barlow Volume 4 Issue 11 SUCCESS FROM HOME 97 MonaVie gives back to Brazil’s poorest communities. 98 SUCCESS FROM HOME Volume 4 Issue 11 MonaVie has enjoyed tremendous success with the açaí berry, found along the Amazon River in Brazil. In a global gesture of thanksgiving, the company now gives back to Brazil for providing that cornerstone ingredient. MonaVie is the main corporate sponsor for the M.O.R.E. Project—a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting poverty, changing lives and restoring families in Brazil. “MonaVie believes it is a blessed company, and part of that belief inspires them to give back,” says Katy Holt-Larsen, executive director of the M.O.R.E. Project. The M.O.R.E. Project—an acronym for “MonaVie Operation RE scue”—is focused on improving the lives of children, adults and families living in extreme poverty in the favelas, the slums of Brazil. They live hand-to-mouth, largely forgotten by the rest of their country and the rest of the world. “These people have grown up in slums with no opportunity,” Katy says. “Some of the adults have never attended school. Many of them don’t have enough money to pay for food for their families. It’s a desperate situation. There is a very big need.” According to the World Bank, close to 20 million people in Brazil are indigent, living on less than a couple of dollars a day. In the face of such overwhelming need, the M.O.R.E. Project decided to narrow its focus on one slum in particular, Vila Ipiranga, located just outside Rio de Janeiro and home to around 100,000 people. “It’s a daunting task,” Katy says. “But we’re making changes in this particular slum and changing lives in the process.” Saving Vila Ipiranga In a country where urban and rural poverty abounds, Vila Ipiranga is not unique. But it does have support from MonaVie, a company looking to make a difference in the lives of the poor. “We focus our efforts on children, teenagers, adults and families,” Katy says. “We address change from the inside out and the outside in.” The project employs a team of about 40 people in Brazil, some of whom actually live in Vila Ipiranga, and a team of five employees in the States. Together, they have created a multi-tiered program that is steadily changing lives. For children in Vila Ipiranga, a healthy start is critical. The MORE Project provides a place where children can get two healthy meals a day. “In many cases, these children don’t have nutrition in their homes,” Katy says. At any given time, about 150 children ages 5 to 12 participate in after-school activities where they learn math, writing and reading, as well as music and art. About 225 children receive ongoing dental care as they need it. By all accounts, the children’s outreach is working. “The work we are doing is real,” Katy says. “We are accomplishing our vision. We are seeing a lowering of aggression, and we’re seeing an increase in literacy in English and in Portuguese.” Changing the Cycle Perhaps the biggest advantages are the self-confidence and selfworth the children gain. Without that sense of self, many children are pulled or even forced into the drug trade and prostitution that rule Rio’s slums. “Basically, there are drug lords who run the slums,” Katy says. “Around the age of 10,they start recruiting the boys. They become soldiers, spies,carriers.” She re c a l l s the s tor y ofFlavio, an 11-year-old who was saved from the drug trade by the leadership of the MOREProject. “Flavio is a child who is gregarious and warm, and who is learning English,” Katy says. “Flavio’s dad was killed through drugs.” Like many children in the slums, Flavio found it impossible to avoid that way of life. “It’s very hard to change the cycle,” she says. “They don’t see any other options.” Soon, Sergio Ponce, the MORE Project’s in-country president, learned that Flavio had been recruited by a drug gang. In a brave move, Sergio met with the drug lord and asked him to leave Flavio alone so he could continue his studies and be safe. Moved by Sergio’s persistence and love for the boy, the gang leader agreed. “It’s a wonderful success story,” Katy says. “But it’s just the beginning. Part of what we’re doing now is teaching Flavio that there are different ways to live.” ‘They Can Learn’ Teenagers and adults also have a special place within the MORE Project. Each week, the project offers 79 classes, drawing around 600 teenagers and 400 adults. “The first challenge is to help these people believe in themselves because many of them no longer believe they can learn,” Katy says. “Our professional school is focused onteaching vocational skills, so they can go out and have success on the job.” Classes include Portuguese, English, sewing, telemarketing, To Vila Ipiranga, with Love Dallin and wife Karree Volume 4 Issue 11 SUCCESS FROM HOME 99 mechanics, jewelry making, manicuring and sales. The program is gaining popularity with local companies. “Local telemarketers are starting to call here and ask for people to work for them,” she says. Katy and the rest of the M.O.R.E. Project staff know that they will never eliminate the existence of the favelas, but they do believe they can significantly change circumstances. “The organization does have a Christian base,” she says. “I believe this foundation provides hope and inspiration to the people we are supporting.” For Katy, the chance to be involved with such work was an opportunity she could not pass up. “I absolutely love the M.O.R.E. Project,” says Katy, who has a background in leadership and organizational development. “I was looking for an opportunity where I could make more of a difference, where I could do something to impact a small part of the world. For the teens, some of them are leaving the drug world, getting jobs and going to universities.” Many of the adults simply start by smiling again, Katy says. “Their confidence changes; they start to gain self-esteem, believe in themselves and venture out into the workforce,” she says. The Gift of Hope While a portion of the M.O.R.E. Project’s resources are devoted to nutrition, education and employment, another portion is dedicated to aiding families broken apart by abject poverty. The goal is to physically repair and rebuild as many homes in the favela as possible, Katy says. “Their homes are in horrible disrepair. They have dirt floors, and there’s often no toilet,” she says. “There’s rain coming through and in some cases sewer water coming up.” The children and teenagers in many families don’t want to stay at their homes in these miserable conditions, so they spend time on the streets. The M.O.R.E. Project wants to reverse that trend and hopes to do more than simply buildnew structures. “You help them gain dignity on the inside and you give them a dignified place to live,” Katy says. “The M.O.R.E. Project is restoring families.” In addition to providing new housing, the M.O.R.E. Project is building an actual village, Village MonaVie, which will serve as a sanctuary for the children. To keep it and all of the other efforts thriving, the company offers not only its dollars, but its distributorsas well, Katy says. “MonaVie distributors are incredibly supportive and committed to this cause,” she says. The M.O.R.E. Project has begun offering volunteer service expeditions for distributors who wish to spend time working with the M.O.R.E. Project in Vila Ipiranga. “This is a great program,” Katy says. “You can know the good works that are happening from far away. But when you get to Brazil and see the changes, it just gets inside you!” She says she is grateful to MonaVie for its crucial financial support.“In general, corporate America today is becoming more socially conscious,” she says. Katy is not at all surprised that a direct selling company has taken such an interest in the M.O.R.E. Project. “If you think about it, direct selling is a new beginning for a lot of people,” Katy says. “As they gain a new sense of hope for their own lives, they have a natural desire to go out and offer it to others.” MonaVie, she adds, is about giving and receiving. “And the distributors feel that way, too,” she says. “It speaks to the founders of MonaVie. They are committed to making a great company and a great difference in the world.” SFH

Choice Humanitarian leads development projects in third world countries and this weekend there was a plane crash with one of their expeditions on a small plane in Guatemala. The More Project is devastated by this news and sends their heartfelt grief at this time. As More Project supporters if you are interested in reaching out in any way to Choice Humanitarian with volunteer hours or condelences, please let us know and we will be happy to facilitate. As you can imagine this is a very tragic and sad day for Choice Humanitarian. We are reaching out to this organization to see if there is anything or any way we can offer support in this time of need. And as you might know, we are starting our own expeditions in October. Safety is one of our top priorities. The news story is below. With love and sadness today, Katy AP news wire Another deadly plane crash affects the lives of Utahns, this time in the Central American nation of Guatemala. The plane went down in a field just outside of Guatemala City, reportedly claiming the lives of 10 people. And four people on board that flight were Utahns on a humanitarian mission. Two of those four died, and two were pulled from the wreckage in critical condition. The ill-fated plane was chartered by a Utah group, and everyone on board was part of the humanitarian mission except the pilot and co-pilot. A spokesman told us tonight four volunteers on board are from Utah, their fate unknown at this hour. The organization based in West Jordan is called Choice Humanitarian. It does development projects in third world countries, building schools, water projects and the like. Volunteers were on their way to finish construction of a school in a Guatemalan village. Video from Central America tonight shows a military helicopter that apparently brought in a young woman injured in the crash. The pilot of the Cessna Caravan reportedly had engine trouble and attempted an emergency landing. Initial reports indicate ten people killed including five Americans. The Associated Press reports two of those killed were from Wisconsin. Utah spokesman Lew Swain said he doesn’t know if the four Utahns survived the crash. But he said it created “an immense amount of tragedy. This is a great tragedy for a little organization.” They’re trying to get more detailed information through Guatemalan agencies and from the U.S. Embassy. It’s a very rough moment for a group that’s been helping the world for 30 years.