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The Direct Selling Association will be on hand this week to help the Today Show kick off their annual Toy Drive. The 15th Annual TODAY Show Holiday Toy Drive will be launched Monday November 24th at 8:30 AM. This will be the fifth year that the DSA has been a part of the annual drive.

The DSA will kick off the drive by presenting the direct selling industry’s donation live in Rockefeller Plaza. Thirty two direct selling companies have come together to donate products to the drive, the total donation coming in at over $9 million dollars in products. Seven of the DSA’s companies will be featured in spots on the TODAY show during the holiday season.

Items donated include books, clothing, toiletries and of course toys for children and families all across the United States. Over the past five years, DSA member companies have donated over $37 million dollars in cash, product and services to the Toy Drive.

This is a a brilliant move on the part of the DSA and the member companies that are a part of this. Given the economic times, network marketing companies are going to continue to thrive as more and more people seek additional forms of income.

The following direct selling companies donated products to this year’s Toy Drive:
4Life
Advocare
Amway
Arbonne
Avon Products, Inc
Blessings Unlimited
Butterfly Worldwide, LLC
Clever Container
Cookie Lee
Creative Memories
CUTCO
DeMarle at Home
DeTech
Essential Bodywear
Fifth Avenue Collection
The Happy Gardener
lia sophia
The Longaberger Company
Mary Kay Inc
National Companies
Nature’s Sunshine
Oxyfresh
The Pampered Chef
PartyLite Gifts
Purse Party, Inc
Shaklee Corporation
Signature HomeStyles
Southern Living at Home
The Southwestern Company
Stampin’ Up!
UDesign Jewelry
Vantel Pearls

Popularity: 13% [?]

Amway Global announced it will be the Presenting Sponsor for the NBC Holiday Celebration on Ice event featuring entertainers Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith. National, World and Olympic figure skaters will skate to the music of the season, provide by Grant and Smith. The skating cast is highlighted by Olympic Silver medalist and U.S. National champion Nancy Kerrigan and six-time U.S. champion Todd Eldredge, to name a few.

The ‘NBC Holiday Celebration on Ice, Presented by Amway Global’ is scheduled to air nationally on NBC stations Nov. 30, 2008. The actual event will be taped Nov. 11, 2008 at The Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

As Presenting Sponsor, the Amway Global name will appear in television advertising surrounding the telecast, print materials, and event signage. ARTISTRY Skin Care and Cosmetics, an Amway Global brand, also will have a special opportunity to share product information and samples with fans in attendance, while the program will showcase Artistry’s ‘Beauty Begins with Heart’ cause marketing program benefiting Easter Seals.

‘We are very excited to be part of this unique holiday event,’ says Steve Lieberman, Managing Director for Amway Global. ‘This event captures the spirit and warmth of the season and we are proud to be associated with the quality of the performers and skaters involved.’

The sponsorship is part of a larger Amway Global investment to help build public awareness of its business opportunity and products in North America. The company, which had operated under the Quixtar brand for most of the past decade, is transitioning to the Amway Global name by 2009.

On the ice, Kerrigan and Eldredge will be joined by Olympic champion Ilia Kulik, World champion Yuka Sato, six-time Canadian National champion Jennifer Robinson, and World ice dancing champion and nine-time Canadian National champion Shae-Lynn Bourne. Two-time World Silver medalist ice dancing champions Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon, plus three-time World Silver medalist Surya Bonaly and three-time U.S. champion and World Bronze medalist (with partner Kyoko Ina) John Zimmerman, will make for an incredible holiday celebration.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Global health and wellness company, Neways has just been named the title sponsor of this year’s annual Maui Paradise marathon. The annual event, set of course in Maui, Hawaii, is scheduled to take place in Kalama Park kihei on Sunday, January 11, 2009.

This event will be the first major athletic event that Neways will act as the title sponsor for.
Neways was founded in 1992 and has since dedicated their efforts to helping families build safer, more environmentally friendly homes as well as improving their bodies and health through all natural products. Neways is dedicated to their Healthy Homes program and hopes that this marathon will act as a catalyst for many of their consumers to improve their lives and homes by using safe all natural products.

“Neways feels that this is a great initiative to help make our Healthy Homes program a reality by motivating everyone to train for this event,” said Thierry Sorhaitz, Neways North America managing director. Neways knows that our eco-friendly and healthy products will help everyone get in shape and reach their marathon potential. This marathon’s mission is to be ecologically friendly and sound, just like the Neways mission.” “We want everyone to be involved and participate,” said Sorhaitz. We are so proud of Neways for sponsoring such a healthy event. We are proud to work for a company that cares about our well-being–not just by creating healthy products, but by taking it a step further and encouraging active lifestyles through events like this Neways Maui Paradise Marathon.”

The event which will be called the Neways Maui Paradise Marathon is open to amateurs and professional alike, no matter each participant’s skill level. There is also a half marathon, a 5K and even an event for children.

Neways distributors and products will be in full view throughout the event. Hundreds of distributors will be on hand to participate. Neways will be donating products for use during the event, including the Neways recycled, reusable bags for the race participants.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Chief Financial Officer Richard Goudis will present at the Morgan Stanley Thirteenth Annual Global Consumer & Retail Conference on Tuesday, November 18 at 3 p.m. ET. The event will be held at the New York Crowne Plaza Times Square.

Morgan Stanley has scheduled a live webcast of the presentation. The webcast can be accessed on the investor relations section of Herbalife’s Web site.

I expect this to be an interesting conference given the state of the economy and the significant decline in Herbalife’s stock (NYSE: HLF) this year - down more than 50%.

Popularity: 3% [?]