​A doTERRA Wellness Advocate volunteers to comfort patients experiencing pre-surgery anxiety at the Nemours Children’s Hospital.
 
doTERRA Wellness Advocate Deanna Snyder uses her free-time to support and comfort those that pass through the surgery commons area at Nemours Children’s Hospital. After working as a registered nurse for twenty-five years, Deanna was well aware of the anxiety that can accompany worried patients and their loved ones, and now, she is working to combat those feelings of anxiety. Deanna volunteers weekly in a high-stressed area of the hospital to help relieve individuals from their pre-surgery anxiety by greeting them with a warm smile and by comforting them along their healthcare journey at the Nemours Children’s Hospital.
 
The Nemours Children’s Hospital is a non-profit children’s health organization that provides high quality services for the hundreds of thousands of children they serve annually. Their vision is to do all that is in their power to treat and prevent disabling childhood conditions. Some of the conditions that they help treat range anywhere from various syndromes, cancers, and infections to other health problems like obesity, ADD/ADHD, and asthma.
 
The hospital also reaches out into the community to enrich lives and prevent health issues. For Deanna, some of the hospital's most notable community outreach programs that she enjoys promoting are the BrightStart! and the 5-2-1-Almost None programs. The BrightStart! is a one-of-a-kind, thoroughly researched program created to target children at risk of reading failure. It allows for reading issues to be detected early on in a child’s life so that they can obtain the literacy help they need to be right on track for their educational pursuits. The 5-2-1-Almost None is designed to prevent unhealthy eating and poorly balanced lifestyles. When individuals succumb to unhealthy lifestyles and eating patterns, they are at a greater risk of acquiring health problems such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and more. This program serves as a standard and guideline to help individuals balance their eating, screen-time, exercise, and sugar intake and avoid the pitfalls of unhealthy living.
 
Through their programs, healthcare, and friendly service, the Nemours Children’s Hospital and volunteers like Deanna are helping to bring quality care to children and their loved ones all across the nation. To learn more about the organization or how to donate, visit the Nemours Children’s Hospital website.

​Insanitation, viruses, and lack of education can result from poverty, but Mentors International is giving microloans to impoverished entrepreneurs to fight these effects.

The doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation is contributing to Mentors International’s vision. For years, doTERRA has donated to Mentors International to help them give microloans to impoverished entrepreneurs in developing countries. These microloans will help businesses flourish and increase sustainable living among entrepreneurs and their families.

Since 1990, Mentors International has been successfully assisting impoverished entrepreneurs to get out of the poverty cycle and build their businesses. Many people in developing countries take to the streets to sell food or household items in hopes of raising enough money to support themselves and their families. However, even though they may work 80 hour weeks, the money that they initially borrow from local loan sharks have high interest rates for very small loans, making it difficult for business owners to pay back their loans and still provide the essentials for their families. This problem is the very beginning of a large downward slope.

Because the local business owners have astronomical interest rates that are difficult to pay back, business owners cannot afford basic needs such as toiletries, clean water, food, and proper healthcare. The lack of nutrition and sanitation leads to increased risks of viruses such as diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever. These viruses can also lead to an increased weight loss which can threaten lives, especially the lives of children. Poor living conditions, a lack of nutrition, and viruses can stunt learning and working capabilities which make it difficult for children to get an education and will sorely affect their working abilities in adulthood.

The founders of Mentors International are determined to stop this repeating cycle, and they are doing it by giving impoverished entrepreneurs small microloans with affordable interest rates. These microloans help business owners to purchase tools and raw materials, increase product variety and quality, and hire employees. Mentors International also provides training and consulting services so entrepreneurs can make better business and financial decisions.

Mentors International is finding great success with their program. The repayment rates of the business owners have been uncommonly high, and there has been a significant difference in the quality of businesses and living conditions for these entrepreneurs.

To find out more about Mentors International or how to donate, visit their website.