Photo: doTERRA Wellness Advocates take part in a Healing Hands Foundation project.
In the past year, the doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation has donated nearly $3 million to strengthen impoverished communities around the world.
More than 30 projects were completed this year under the umbrella of the Healing Hands Foundation, the charitable arm of essential oils seller doTERRA. Another 15 projects are underway, the company said in a look back at 2016. These initiatives are carried out through corporate partners, doTERRA Wellness Advocates and employees, volunteers, and the company’s Co-Impact Sourcing Initiative, which supports small-scale growers and their communities.
“The span of what the doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation has accomplished this year is breathtaking,” said David Stirling, Founder and CEO of doTERRA. “The foundation has made a significant impact in the lives of millions. We recognize and are grateful to all who have helped make this possible.”
Several initiatives were unveiled during the company’s annual convention in October, including a partnership with Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.), a nonprofit that works with local law enforcement to rescue children from sex trafficking. This year, doTERRA donated $500,000 to the organization and, in collaboration with O.U.R., introduced a special Hope oil blend. The product’s peel-back label contains contact information for trafficking victims seeking aid. From the convention stage, doTERRA also announced donations of $250,000 to Days for Girls and Mentors International.
In other instances, the Healing Hands Foundation has supported programs launched by doTERRA Wellness Advocates, such as Darrin Clark, who seven years ago created the Mercy Mandate Foundation to bring humanitarian aid to Zimbabwe. This year, in partnership with Mercy Mandate, doTERRA helped fund the construction of a transition home for orphans and installed a fish farm on the property, as a means of supplementing the children’s diet.
The company’s Co-Impact Sourcing Initiative has given rise to further charitable work, in the underdeveloped areas where doTERRA is forging partnerships with local growers and distillers. For example, in Nepal, the source of doTERRA’s wintergreen essential oil, the company teamed with CHOICE Humanitarian to build the first two earthquake-resilient schools in the country, after a 7.8-magnitude quake devastated the region in 2015.
“We look forward to more meaningful partnerships and inspiring projects in the years to come,” said Stirling. “Our combined efforts are making a real, significant difference for people around the world.”
