ISA Foundation Partners With Nonprofit to Help Children in Kenya

The desire to impact world health and give back to others has led a Gilbert-based company to help feed children in Kenya.

In 2018, global health and wellness company Isagenix International launched the ISA Foundation so it could strategically expand its charitable efforts by partnering with multiple nonprofit organizations. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit’s mission is to provide healthy nutrition and support for underserved children, wellness education for all, and aid for those affected by natural disasters. One of the foundation’s first grants, for $100,000, went to SERV International, a Georgia-based nonprofit that uses food as a catalyst to transform lives. SERV received a second $100,000 grant in August. The nonprofit is using the funds to provide food and support for at-risk orphans in Turkana County, Kenya.

In late November, Isagenix Senior Community Relations Coordinator Lisa Ceballos, eight of the company’s independent distributors, and two SERV employees traveled to Kenya on a service trip. While there, the group helped pack over 56,000 SERV Food meals, distributed meals in local villages, and visited with children in SERV’s House of Hope orphanage.

“The highlight of the trip was interacting with the children from House of Hope and seeing how happy they were in their home,” said Ceballos, who manages the ISA Foundation. “Many of them came from very desperate situations and had all of their needs provided for at House of Hope. The orphanage was overflowing with love.”

Ceballos said she also appreciated seeing SERV’s four greenhouses, which grow chickpeas and a variety of fruit trees so children can have fresh food. SERV used ISA Foundation grant funds to build one of the greenhouses.

SERV is one of dozens of U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofits who have received an ISA Foundation grant. Since the foundation launched, it has awarded grants totaling over $1.8 million to 51 organizations who serve people in need around the world. The grants range from $2,500 to $100,000. The first round of grants was announced in January and the second in August.

Twenty-three of the 51 grant recipients are based in Arizona. Their combined grants total $627,500. The Arizona nonprofits are using the funding for a variety of projects not only in the United States but also outside the country. For example:

• The Delia Foundation in Scottsdale is using its $25,000 grant to provide nutritional support to special needs orphans and families of foster children in Romania.
• The ASU Foundation for A New American University in Tempe is using its $50,000 grant to conduct an integrated behavior health needs assessment in Asia.

Originally named the Isagenix Legacy Foundation, the ISA Foundation changed its name in August to better reflect its three guiding principles:

• Inspire: Inspire generosity and positive change by paying it forward.
• Share: Give a helping hand. Everyone can do their share.
• Advocate: Advocate for change, and raise awareness.

To help support the foundation’s work, Isagenix has connected two products to the nonprofit:

• IsaKids® Super Smoothie: For each bag purchased, Isagenix donates one meal to a child in need through the ISA Foundation. So far, nearly 53,000 meals have been donated, including 7,192 meals from a special “buy one, donate two” promotion during the product’s launch.
• BĒA™ Sparkling Energy Drink: Isagenix is donating 5% of the product’s profits to the foundation to help the nonprofit carry out its mission.

The ISA Foundation will announce its next group of grant recipients in January. It will begin accepting its next round of grant applications March 15.