Jenny PerezExecutive Director, Herbalife Nutrition Foundation
Experience changes the way you look at things. It gives you perspective and knowledge that doesn’t come solely through theory. I was the first in my family to go to college, earning a full scholarship to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and that opportunity opened the world for me, a girl whose Mexican immigrant parents didn’t go to school past the sixth grade. And that chance ignited my passion to help others. I know that, if given the opportunity to strive, every child has endless possibilities.
Created in 1994 by Herbalife Founder Mark Hughes, the Herbalife Family Foundation (HFF) is a U.S. 501(C) (3), a non-profit corporation dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing healthy nutrition and nutrition education to children in need.
Given the Foundation’s purpose to support communities in need through good nutrition and resources, we are excited to announce our own name change to the Herbalife Nutrition Foundation (HNF).
Through my work at the Foundation, I’ve seen firsthand the lasting impact we are making in children’s lives through good nutrition. Last September, I visited an orphanage for young girls that the Foundation supports in Mexico City and was inspired by the environment of trust, security, and reassurement offered to the girls. There’s a school and a beautiful kitchen and they’re all there together, learning how to become independent. They’ve kind of become their own family.
I was truly moved because my mother lost her mom at the age of 6. My grandfather had no idea how to raise six children so he placed them with other people—my mom and her siblings didn’t have it easy. When I visited that orphanage, I couldn’t help but think about my mom, about how amazing it would have been for her to have a place like that and about how glad I am I can be a part of such a great initiative
Today, the Herbalife Nutrition Foundation partners with more than 168 programs (we call them “Casas”) around the world in more than 58 countries, with the purpose to ensure that children in the most need have the resources and access to good nutrition, helping them grow healthier and happier. In 2022, we served 229,349 kids and families through 170 Casas Herbalife.
I’m fortunate to be part of an organization dedicated to helping those who need it most. I can only imagine what the kids we help will grow up to be – scientists, artists, doctors, teachers – and how they will change the world.