Atrium Innovations and SOS Children’s Villages: Growing together to help orphans in Peru

Atrium Innovations Inc. has provided orphaned and abandoned children in Peru with a home, a family, and food.

Employees of Atrium Innovation, Inc have journeyed to the SOS Children’s Village Pachacamac in Peru for the ground breaking ceremony inaugurating the construction of a new home funded by the company. Throughout the course of the week, Atrium’s staff will be volunteering around the Village, painting the interiors and exteriors of the homes and planting gardens.

Atrium contributed the cost for the construction of a home for 12 orphaned and abandoned children to live as a family under the care of a SOS mother. In addition to this as part of a separate nutrition initiative, Atrium will contribute all the costs of food for one year for the entire Pachacamac SOS Village, home to eight families including more than 80 children.

During the last year and a half, Atrium Innovations, Inc., a leader in the dietary supplements industry, raised over $150,000 for both the Pachacamac home and the nutrition project through its Growing Together employee fundraising program. Growing Together seeks to positively impact the health of those in need both locally and globally. The program named SOS Children’s Villages as its beneficiary and raised funds through employee contributions and special events, including an annual 60 km charity bike ride in Quebec City.

Atrium Innovations Inc. President and CEO Pierre Fitzgibbon, who is in Peru for the groundbreaking, stated, “As international corporate social citizens, I strongly believe that we have the moral obligation to help our communities both, locally and globally.  Since its inception, our Growing Together Program has been a source of mobilization for our employees which is a major success factor.  They have raised more than 100,000 $ in 2011, and the building of the Atrium House at the Pachacamac SOS Children’s Village in Peru is the fruition of their efforts, of their generosity and ultimately, of their commitment. This house will give orphaned and abandoned children a safe place where they can grow up healthy and happy in a family environment.”

SOS Children’s Villages Canada President and CEO Boyd McBride said, “SOS Children’s Villages is honoured to be a partner with Atrium Innovations. Their Growing Together program is a model of corporate social responsibility. Children who were abandoned and orphaned have a loving home and food on the table thanks to the dedication and generosity of so many of Atrium’s employees.”

In Peru, nearly half the population lives below the poverty line and many families still struggle to get access to clean water and sanitation, food, medical care and education for their children. Such conditions have left children at risk: an estimated 600,000 children in Peru have been orphaned or abandoned. In the Pachacamac region, south east of Peru’s capital of Lima, this is even more profound. A rural, agricultural community, many of those who live in Pachacamac face extreme poverty without access to basic social services.

An SOS Children’s Village was built in Pachacamac in 2004 to care for the high number of orphaned and abandoned children in the region, but the need is so great the village is currently over capacity. SOS is expanding the Pachacamac village by adding an additional five homes which will enable SOS to provide a loving home to 50 more children, Atrium’s being the first.

Following today’s groundbreaking, the building will complete the following year.

Visit Growing Together’s Facebook page for daily updates of the visit to the SOS Children’s Village Pachacamac, Peru.

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ABOUT ATRIUM INNOVATIONS
Atrium Innovations Inc. is a globally recognized leader in the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of innovative, science-based dietary supplements endorsed by health professionals. The Company distributes its extensive portfolio of products mainly in the healthcare practitioner and health food and specialized store channels, with a primary focus in North America and Europe. Atrium is at the forefront of science, innovation and education in the dietary supplement industry. The Company has over 1,100 employees and operates eight manufacturing facilities. Additional information is available at www.atrium-innovations.com.

ABOUT SOS CHILDREN’S VILLAGES CANADA
SOS Children’s Villages provides children in need with a caring, loving, and secure family environment where basic needs for food, health, shelter, and education are met. SOS provides children in need with a caring, loving and secure family environment where basic needs for food, health, shelter and education are met, creating opportunities for children to become responsible, contributing members of society. Over 1 million children in 133 countries benefit from our commitment to “a loving home for every child”. To find out how you can help, visit www.soschildrensvillages.ca

For media inquiries, please visit our media centre for more information: www.soschildrensvillages.ca/News/Media-Centre/