If you follow our facebook statuses or newsletters, you know we mention our giving and advocacy projects just about every week. Perhaps you’ve wondered why we’re so driven to give back to and improve the world. I thought I’d take a moment and share our background and why we do what we do.

We give because

• We are paying forward the blessings shown to us. We have so many stories of blessing here at the company – growing up in the inner city, and being given scholarships for higher education; having a second chance after making poor decisions early in life; finding hope and healing for health and neurological problems through diet and therapy. We feel strongly that an attitude of gratitude demands us to bless others as we ourselves were blessed, to give others the opportunities and hope that we were given. This informs and drives our daily business.

• We believe in Love. It sounds simplistic, but in the end we love God, and we love people, and we want to live lives that overflow with love. If we can do anything to bring love, life, healing, and hope into others’ lives, we’re committed to doing it, and the natural outworking of that worldview is to give wherever we can.

• We are problem solvers and not problem seers. It’s not enough to notice what is wrong with the world or what could be improved. It’s not enough to complain about it. If it is within our power to do something to bring good to the world, we have a responsibility to step up and be a part of the solution, and if others are inspired to join us, it is an additional blessing. The world is a brighter and more hopeful place when we view it through the filter of being able to actively do something to improve it.

• We believe that life is about more than making money. Resources flow like a river through our lives. If we only concentrate on gathering riches, we ‘dam up’ the river and create a stagnant pool. When we allow our blessings to flow out into the world, it’s like ‘irrigation’ to the world, and even as our own channel in the river ‘deepens and widens’ the world beyond becomes a fruitful place. By ‘watering’ others, I ensure not only others’ future, but my own. When the world at large is made more abundant and fruitful, so is my own personal world. Everyone wins. In focusing on something bigger than selling products, we create an environment that is fulfilling for our employees and enriching for our communities.