Young Living Essential Oils Hosts Employee Service Day for Sole Hope

LEHI, Utah, Nov. 9, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Young Living Essential Oils, the largest essential oil company in the world, announced that its philanthropic nonprofit organization, the D. Gary Young, Young Living Foundation, began a three-day service project to benefit Sole Hope, an organization based in Uganda. Sole Hope’s mission is to help individuals infected by jiggers, a debilitating parasitic insect, and other foot-related diseases through education, jobs, and medical relief.

To kick off the holiday season, nearly 2,000 of Young Living’s employees in Utah will participate in a three-day service project to make 2,000 pairs of shoes for the Uganda-based organization. Additionally, more than 20,000 of Young Living’s members will gather for shoe cutting parties this week all over the world, including in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, Southeast Asia, and Australia.

“Because jiggers are misunderstood in Uganda, infected children are often ostracized and outcasted without treatment and support,” said Nikki Davis, Sr. Director of Young Living Global Philanthropy and Executive Director of the D. Gary Young, Young Living Foundation. “We are proud to provide services through Sole Hope that will change the lives of children in Africa and empower them to rise above their circumstances.”

As one of the Foundation’s key projects, Young Living and its members have pledged hundreds of thousands of dollars and have raised global awareness to support Sole Hope. Young Living members have also travelled to Uganda on humanitarian service trips to serve alongside Sole Hope. The Foundation is currently helping Sole Hope purchase land and draft contracts to build a permanent outreach house in Jinja, Uganda. Individuals with complicated or life threatening jigger cases will stay at this Sole Hope Outreach House to receive additional treatment and education on how to remain jigger free. The Foundation has pledged $350,000 to cover the costs of building the Outreach House.

“We are grateful for the overwhelming support from Young Living and its members,” said Sole Hope Executive Director, Dru Collie. “The Foundation’s efforts have enabled us to change lives by providing hope and treatment to hundreds of individuals every week.”

For more information about Sole Hope and the D. Gary Young, Young Living Foundation’s other global humanitarian projects, visit younglivingfoundation.org.