INDUSTRY LEADERS & DONORS ENSURE

SOUTHEASTERN GUIDE DOGS ALUMNI RECEIVE 

FREE DOG CARE 

Fromm Family Pet Food, Elanco preventatives and 

annual veterinary care provided to graduates at no cost  

(Palmetto, FL)—For over 35 years, Southeastern Guide Dogs has provided extraordinary guide and service dogs free of charge to people with visual impairments and veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and other disabilities, thanks to the generosity of private donations. 

Now, in addition to providing these superbly trained dogs, Southeastern Guide Dogs can say that long term canine care is no longer a financial concern for its graduates. 

Thanks to Fromm Family Pet Food, Elanco, many generous veterinary practices, and individual donors, Southeastern Guide Dogs is now the only guide dog school in North America to ensure that guide dog and service dog graduates across the United States can receive premium dog food, monthly preventatives, vaccinations and yearly wellness visits free of charge. This one-of-a-kind program is saving guide and service dog handlers an estimated $1,000-plus out-of-pocket per year.

“We are deeply grateful to Fromm, Elanco, the veterinarians and private donors who are making it possible to offer these benefits to nearly 600 alumni,” says Southeastern Guide Dogs CEO Titus Herman. “The people we serve tend to experience a high level of unemployment and limited, fixed incomes, so these benefits are making a significant difference in the quality of their lives.” 

Bryan Nieman, one of the family members of Fromm Family Pet Food, notes that the company is impressed with – and deeply respectful of – the work of Southeastern Guide Dogs and the impact the organization has on the lives of graduates. “As a fifth generation family-owned-and-operated company, we appreciate the joy, freedom, and companionship these dogs provide their caregivers,” says Nieman. “Our commitment to excellence and unsurpassed quality is mirrored in the Southeastern Guide Dogs Organization, and we are proud to partner with them in the Alumni Support Program.”

Eric Lane, Senior District Manager for Elanco, shares that Elanco Animal Health is a purpose-driven company, “dedicated to giving back to our customers, causes and communities.” Their purpose, along with decades of scientific innovation, enables the company to help improve the lives of people, animals and the planet. Lane adds, “I have worked in the animal health industry for 37 years and representing our purpose by supporting the Alumni Support Program at a world class organization like Southeastern Guide Dogs brings us pride.”  

Guide dog graduate Rachel Weeks has first-hand experience caring for her guide dog, Plum, and a personal understanding of the value and impact of this new set of alumni benefits. She is applying her knowledge to overseeing the administration of the program at Southeastern Guide Dogs.  

“This is an amazing gift,” Weeks says. “I know exactly what it is like to walk into the vet office hoping the bill will not derail my budget. It is important to put food on the table for a family and also imperative for Plum and other dogs like her to receive top-of-the-line care. Our graduates can now go forward confidently to the highest level of independence and freedom.”

Find more information about the Alumni Support Program here.

Poor People’s Campaign tells Congress: You must pass moral agenda to help poor, low-income people of all races 

Poor People’s Campaign demands moral policy agenda in congressional briefing on Thursday 

The Poor People’s Campaign will demand a moral policy agenda to heal America in a congressional briefing Thursday as it follows up on its digital Mass Poor People’s Assembly and Moral March on Washington that drew millions of viewers. 

Legislators and other political leaders from both sides of the aisle have been invited to attend the digital briefing, where campaign leaders will lay out the specifics of the Moral Policy Agenda to Heal America: The Poor People’s Jubilee Platform. 

The agenda is grounded in constitutional and moral values and offers concrete solutions to end the ongoing, concurrent crises of the five interlocking injustices: systemic racism, systemic poverty, militarism, ecological devastation and the false moral narrative of extreme religious nationalism.

“It’s time that we lift from the bottom, which requires us to address all five of the interlocking injustices,” said Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, president of Repairers of the Breach and co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. “We cannot put more money in systemic racism, corporate interests and the war economy than we do in living wages, health care, public education and guaranteeing equal protection under the law. Poverty is lethal; systemic racism is lethal; COVID-19 is lethal. This agenda demands what must be now and after the election to heal the nation.”

Also invited to attend are the tri-chairs from the 45 states where the Poor People’s Campaign is organizing, along with the campaign’s national partners and faith partners. 

The briefing follows the campaign's digital justice assembly on June 20th, when millions of people tuned in to the digital justice gathering to hear the reality facing 140 million people who are poor or low-income in the wealthiest country in the world and where 700 people die each day from poverty -- even before COVID-19. 

Also on that day, the campaign’s coordinating committees from 45 states and over 200 organizational partners, labor unions and religious denominations came together around the moral policy agenda to heal America. 

“Biblically, the Year of Jubilee was a time to release people from their debts, release all slaves and ensure that all people have what they need to thrive, not just barely survive,” said Rev. Liz Theoharis, director of Kairos Center for Religions, Rights and Social Justice and co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign. “Our Justice Platform provides a way for this country to do the same with policies and budgets that lift people out of poverty and revive the economy with the promise of a brighter future for all.”

The sweeping platform offers a roadmap for lawmakers to take seriously the moral and constitutional principles upon which this country was founded: to establish justice, promote the general welfare, ensure domestic tranquility, secure the blessings of liberty and provide for the common defense.

In addition to Barber and Theoharis, the policy director for the Kairos Center and the Poor People’s Campaign, Shailly Gupta Barnes, will address the briefing. 

The briefing begins at 1 p.m. and lasts until 2:30 p.m. Thursday. It’s open only to the media and invited guests. Reporters can register here.

Health Food Innovator Edward & Sons Trading Company, Inc. – First To Introduce Miso-Cup® Instant Soup & Gluten-Free Baked Brown Rice Snaps® To American Consumers –Marks 40^th Anniversary Milestone

CARPINTERIA, CA., MARCH 8, 2018 - The first Whole Foods Market wouldn’t open in Austin, Texas, for another two years. The first Sprouts wouldn’t make its debut in Arizona for another 24 years. Vegetarians were relegated to the shadows in most supermarket settings, and for much of the population, the term Vegan sounded like something out of “Star Trek.”

The year was 1978 and the health food revolution was in its infancy. But a young man named Joel Dee with a vision of what the industry could one day become saw the future. And it was delicious.

As a young man, Joel worked alongside his two brothers and their father, Edward, in the family’s iconic New Jersey-based business, Smarties Candy Company. But, as fate would have it, Joel’s interests extended well beyond the confection industry.

“I was responsible for export sales at the candy company and found it difficult to maintain a healthy, satisfying diet while on-the-road,” Joel recalls today. “Health food stores sold wholesome foods that required a kitchen and a long cooking time, both in short supply to a `road warrior’ such as myself. Conventional supermarkets sold convenience foods that were laced with preservatives and artificial ingredients, which I was determined to avoid. To make things even tougher, I had recently become vegetarian, so my restaurant menu options were often limited to salad and potatoes... not exactly a balanced diet.”

Adds Joel, “I was a traveling salesman who needed portable, nourishing, easy to prepare vegetarian food without artificial ingredients, but I couldn’t find it anywhere in 1976 America. I wondered: Could I be the only person who wants this? I hadn’t planned to start a new business, but I felt somewhat obliged to.  If I wouldn’t take on the job of creating wholesome, vegetarian convenience foods, it occurred to me that no one else would either.” 

With that motivation in mind, Joel began a two year effort to develop Miso-Cup® instant soup mix and, with its launch in 1978, Edward & Sons Trading Company, Inc. was born. 

A History of “Firsts”                                                                                                                                                                              

As it turned out, introducing instant Miso-Cup soup would be only the first of numerous company innovations that would continue for the next forty years. In 1979, for example, Edward & Sons introduced Baked Brown Rice Snaps® whole grain, gluten free crackers, decades before American shoppers would demand gluten free groceries on a massive scale. Numerous “first-to-market” vegan organic products followed, including canned coconut milk, hearts of palm, pineapple chunks and mandarin oranges, Worcestershire sauce, croutons, panko, ice cream cones and many more. 

According to Joel, “We tend to do `firsts’ because that’s what we’re passionate about. We are driven to provide new options to our health-aware consumers, while creating markets for our ethical organic farmers and packers around the globe. We’re proud of our activities that protect native forests and support conversion from conventional to organic farming, which nourishes the environment while enhancing the well-being of everyone along the supply chain from farm to table.”

Indeed, Joel and his team have successfully developed so many different products over these past 40 years that they’ve chosen to create subsidiary brands to market and distinguish them all, including the flagship Edward & Sons® brand as well as Native Forest®,  Let’s Do Organic®, Let’s Do Gluten-Free®, More Than Fair®, Nature Factor®, Road’s End Organics®, Premier Japan® and The Wizard's®.  

Regardless of the brand name on the package, however, all products under the Edward & Sons umbrella are defined by the company’s longstanding commitment to excellent vegetarian food and to its enduring motto: Convenience Without Compromise.®

As Joel sums up, “We remain a vegetarian company that’s mission-driven to offer consumers delicious and nourishing convenience foods free of artificial ingredients. That’s how we’ve run the business for the past 40 years and it’s how I envision Edward & Sons to be run for the next 40 years - and beyond.”

4 Tips to Lose Weight for the Summer, and Keep It Off

Expert tips by Taylor Malham, Nutritionist and Product Education Specialist for Isagenix International

Summer is here, but it’s not too late for you to get in shape for the season — and stay in shape after it ends. Research shows that summer can be an ideal time for weight loss because warmer weather encourages healthier eating (fresh fruits and veggies) and better hydration. So, if you’re ready to kick off your summer slim-down, here are four of my favorite summer weight loss tips:

1. Don’t Skimp on Sleep: Sure, the days are a bit longer, but don’t let that hinder your sleep. Try to follow the National Sleep Foundation’s recommendation of seven to nine hours of quality sleep every night. Several studies have found that sleep restriction can alter the balance of hormones involved in controlling appetite, calorie intake, and metabolism. A recent study from Arizona State University found that when overweight individuals skimped on just one hour of sleep for five nights per week, they lost less body fat during a structured weight loss program. In other words, lack of sleep can cause you to feel hungrier and lead to overeating, making it easy to derail your weight loss efforts. While nothing replaces a good night’s sleep, if the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep aren’t happening, you could try squeezing in a quick 15-minute nap when a craving hits, as it can often provide a much-needed energy boost in place of a high-calorie snack.

2. Increase Your Fruit and Veggie Intake: Hot weather typically makes people more prone to craving lighter and fresher foods like fruits and vegetables, which also tend to be lighter in calories and can help support your nutrition and weight loss goals. Keep a variety of fruits and veggies in the house so you always have a healthy snack option when hunger strikes. Even better, have your fruits and veggies washed, chopped, and ready to go for convenience. Studies have shown that keeping a fruit bowl — and no other food — on the counter at home is associated with a healthier body weight in families. Give it a try. Keep healthy foods in plain sight and hide the sweets and treats in your home to see how it affects your family’s food choice behaviors.

3. Drink More Water: Many of us do this naturally during the hotter months. Staying hydrated and drinking more water can help minimize excess calorie consumption. Prioritize your hydration this summer. Carry a refillable water bottle with you or set alarms on your phone reminding you hydrate.

4. Eat Outdoors: Who doesn’t love an outdoor picnic or barbecue? When the weather is warm and sunny, there’s no better reason to take your meals outside. Not only is an outdoor meal with family and friends enjoyable, but warmer weather may even help slightly suppress your appetite. One study tested this theory and found that within a two-hour period, those eating in an environment with a warmer temperature (approximately 12 degrees Fahrenheit warmer) consumed almost 100 fewer calories than those in the cooler temperature.

eSmartr, Steve Aoki Partner on a Line of Cognitive Boosting Smart Compression Sleeves

Designed to Naturally Improve Mindfulness

MISSISSAUGA, ON, July 16, 2020 /CNW/ - Two-time Grammy-nominated DJ/Producer Steve Aoki and eSmartr partner to launch a limited-edition line of Smart Compression Sleeves that improve brain cognition without drugs and batteries or invasive measures. The 4-Sleeve collection, designed by Steve Aoki, will be available on July 15 at esmartr.com.

"As a creator who is constantly working, finding incremental gains to help expand my mental output is important," says Aoki. "The eSmartr Sleeve is part of my mindfulness routine, adding that extra mental boost whether I'm in the studio, working out, gaming, or relaxing."

The eSmartr Smart Compression Sleeve uses Cognitive Boost Technology. This proprietary pattern improves cognitive function when in contact with the skin, helping to reduce stress and anxiety, increase focus and attention, and improve memory and clarity. With nothing else like it in the market, the Sleeve is a tool that can elevate one's wellness journey, top-of-mind during these unprecedented times.

"Steve Aoki is passionate about mental wellness and naturally improving mindfulness, making him the perfect partner for eSmartr," says Jay Dhaliwal, eSmartr CEO. "We're excited about Steve's release and helping more people benefit from our technology."

On July 22, the media is exclusively invited, alongside Steve Aoki, to view the full collection via a Zoom Press Conference. The Steve Aoki collection captures Steve's personality and brand and will be available in the full arm and forearm options. eSmartr's first collaborative collection with Steve Aoki - the first of many to come with global brands - provides a 100% natural mental wellness solution for everyone to gain a mental edge.

Press Conference: July 22, 2020 @ 2:30 pm EST 
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_3jSCLSCvTl6sKzrestoi0w

Press Kit: www.esmartr.com/epk/steveaoki

About eSmartr

A neuroscience and wellness company that makes mindfulness easy. The eSmartr Smart Compression Sleeve uses skin-to-brain Cognitive Boost Technology™, providing the mental edge to optimize performance. 

About Steve Aoki

Two-time Grammy-nominated DJ/Producer, Steve Aoki, is one of today's most successful American cross-genre artists. With over 2.8B streams on Spotify, Aoki's recently released "Neon Future IV" (April 2020), has rocketed in streams to date with singles like "Maldad" with Maluma and "Let It Be Me" ft. Backstreet Boys, amplifying his already lauded discography. 

THE AOKI FOUNDATION, supports organizations in brain science research that focuses on regenerative medicine and brain preservation.

Baker Institute: Politics are hindering public health

HOUSTON – (July 16, 2020) – Partisan divisions about the pandemic are negatively affecting public health and economic recovery, according to experts at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

Christopher Kulesza, research analyst for the Child Health Policy program, and Quianta Moore, fellow in child health policy at the institute, are available to talk to the news media about the intersection of politics and public health.

“Public health should not be a political issue,” they wrote in a recent Baker Institute blog post. “The division between the public across party lines is hindering our progress as a nation to restore the health and vitality of our country and its residents. We must set aside political ideologies and follow data, evidence and science.”

Polling between Republicans and Democrats conducted since March has documented a partisan divide in response to the pandemic, according to the authors. For instance, a recent Pew Researchpoll showed that most Americans are wearing masks, but rates differ by individual party identification – half of Republicans said they wear a mask most or all of the time compared to 76% of Democrats.

The authors argue there is overwhelming evidence now, as opposed to the beginning of the year, that masks can be highly effective at reducing the spread of COVID-19. Yet “there is still a wide gap between recent medical research findings on COVID-19 and public opinion.”

State and federal leaders on both sides have become more open to public mask requirements, according to the authors. However, “none of the Southern or Western governors have publicly considered instating a lockdown similar to that which brought the New York City epidemic under control.”

Kulesza and Moore argue it is more critical now than at any time during the pandemic to set aside partisanship and to direct policy using an evidence-based approach. 

“State and local policy officials may need to make decisions that are unpopular with their respective voter base to ensure a safe return to work,” they wrote. “If they do not, we risk prolonging the pandemic and further delaying our economic recovery and experiencing a greater loss of life.”

Sahoja Redefines Social Media as a Platform for Good

ATLANTA – Social media continues to make headlines for divisive, hateful communication, but what if social media could provide a platform for doing good – good things from good people communicating good ideas?

Sahoja – a new social media community dedicated to connecting good people to share good ideas, buy from companies dedicated to doing good and helping good causes. And providing complete privacy and transparency in all interactions.

“Very simply, Sahoja (Sahoja.co) helps members spread kindness to people and the planet through the causes they support, the purchases they make, and the community they create with us,” explained Rajesh Rai, co-founder. “This is a multi-faceted experience revolving around our central theme of being a positive influence on others.

“Sahoja is an all-encompassing community offering its members a chance to share stories, ideas, values and hope in an effort to make this a better world; to buy from deserving, like-minded merchants, and to help those in need.”

Members can exchange ideas, thoughts, musings as is done on other social media platforms, but with specific ground rules.

“No politics, no religion, no divisive discussions,” said Rai. “We will monitor communications to ensure these standards are adhered to. Sahoja will not be a place for hate to fester and spread.”

Sahoja is at its core a social media platform but goes beyond simply providing a forum for conversation. It offers ethical products, healthy advice and the ability to directly benefit worthy causes.

“The meaning of Sahoja is ‘stronger together,’” explained Rai. “All the aspects of our platform, or more precisely, platforms, combine to improve the world around us in many ways.”

Sahoja’s Mindful Marketplace provides ethical products from ethical merchants

In addition to the ability to communicate amongst themselves, Sahoja members will have access to a unique, curated Mindful Marketplace. This online bazaar consists of products and partners which share Sahoja’s members’ values. 

“Sahoja's merchants are carefully curated based on universal values of sharing and giving, so you know you're buying goods and services from companies you can trust,” explained Rai. “We take our responsibilities seriously; we will maintain our pledge to keep Sahoja providing these positive values.”

Every purchase makes an impact by supporting responsible and ethical companies like Moka Origins chocolates, 337 Brand, Gina Cucina foods, Panda eyewear and Luke’s Toy Factory STEM educational toys. Product categories include apparel, beauty & personal care, fitness, food & nutrition and accessories.

Coming soon to the Marketplace will be digital services including online educational programs (like yoga classes) and downloadable materials (like books). Again, the overriding themes – healthy, ethical, wellness – will prevail in the selection of these services.

Reward points separates Sahoja from the social-media pack

And every time a member makes a Mindful Marketplace purchase, they will earn reward points, another unique Sahoja feature.

“Sahoja has its own currency, its reward points,” explained Rai. “These points are earned when members positively interact and engage with the platform and can in turn be used to make a positive impact on the nonprofit projects featured on Sahoja.”

Members earn points by posting helpful content on the social media platform, buying products from the Sahoja Mindful Marketplace and supporting Impact Partner projects (the Sahoja curated charitable organizations). In addition, all new members (currently) receive 10,000 points upon signing up for Sahoja.

Points can be redeemed for donation to the Impact Partners and in the future will also be redeemable for purchases in the Mindful Marketplace. In addition, in the future these will be redeemable for cash.

Impact Partners deserving help

Impact Partners are nonprofit organizations focused on relevant issues who abide by the highest standards of transparency, generosity, diversity and impact they create. These nonprofit partners are invited to feature their projects on the Sahoja platform for the Sahoja community to support.

Today Impact Partners include Rainforest Foundation US, One Tree Planted, Friends of Refugees, Atlanta Mission, Atlanta Community Food Bank, Feeding America, Red Nose Day, Save with Stories, Water M Mission, The Student Relief Fund and Himalayan Institute Humanitarian Mission.

“These are among our initial Impact Partners; there will be more as we progress,” said Rai. “We are out to help as many deserving people, deserving causes as is possible.”

Sahoja’s corporate structure is unique among the social-media collective

Overall, Sahoja is an e-commerce platform supporting NGOs and non-profits with room on the platform to interact and communicate with its members. It is a for-profit Delaware corporation co-founded by Rajesh Rai and two others. But they will not be the sole owners of Sahoja.

“Sahoja members will have the ability to become Sahoja owners,” explained Rai. “That’s right, we have designed the corporate structure to allow members to purchase shares in the company. We believe this should be an inclusive community.

“One of our goals is to address financial inequality rampant throughout the world so we model the corporate structure of Sahoja upon the five principles outlined by the Business Roundtable: delivering value for our customers/members; investing in our employees; treating our suppliers ethically; supporting our community, and providing long-term shareholder value. And since our members will be our shareholders, maximizing shareholder value when everyone is a shareholder, is a great value proposition.

“And it all comes back to our sense of community, working together to do good things. Please remember the meaning of Sahoja – stronger together.”