For most of us, vitamins enhance an already rich and healthful diet. In the developing world, where war, famine and poverty are so sadly familiar, vitamins can make the difference between a child’s blindness and sight, or between a healthy pregnancy and a mother and infant at great risk.
That’s where the nonprofit Vitamin Angel Alliance comes in. Founder Howard Schiffer began years ago to collect overstock from the vitamin industry and send it to refugee camps and disaster regions. His volunteer efforts became Vitamin Angel Alliance, and today they distribute millions of critical micro-nutrients to those in need.
One of VAA’s key projects is Operation 20/20, an initiative to end childhood blindness caused by Vitamin A deficiency. The lack of basic Vitamin A supplements at a critical time in childhood leaves hundreds of thousands of children sightless for life, though it takes just one dollar’s worth of vitamins to keep a child’s eyes healthy. Howard’s goal is to eradicate this unnecessary and utterly preventable tragedy.
Vitamin Angel is a shining example of what one person with vision can do. If you like knowing that even a small donation can make a radical difference in someone’s life, contribute to Vitamin Angel.
Image: Matt McGee