The Organic and Natural Health Association, a trade association representing companies in the natural health products industries, announced that it has partnered with the Williams-Franklin Foundation during its annual conference, held virtually this year.
 
The Williams-Franklin Foundation is a nonprofit that provides academic scholarships, business/career networking, and mentoring opportunities to HBCU students with extreme financial need. Led by the husband and wife team of Dwight and LaShelle (Williams) Franklin, both HBCU graduates who used their own seed money to launch the foundation in 2014, the company has raised thousands of dollars that have impacted the lives of many HBCU students.
 
The partnership will raise a minimum of $50,000 for the Williams-Franklin Foundation during the next five years to support the education expenses of students attending historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to be held in a designated fund for the industry, called “Organic and Natural Health Scholarship Fund.”
 
Other diversity and inclusion initiatives the natural products association has been a part of includes commitments to support networking opportunities for HBCU students, graduates, and natural health executives, with the purpose of creating internships and career opportunities that will result in a more diverse and inclusive industry.
 
“This is an Organic & Natural Health initiative, but it’s not ours to own,” Karen Howard, executive director of Organic & Natural Health, said. “We want to make this an industry-wide initiative for diversity and inclusion, and we want it to be as big and as noteworthy as what Vitamin Angels has achieved for dietary supplement distribution to countries in need. Exposure to our industry is the biggest barrier to lack of diversification in our organizations. Together, as an industry, we can proactively work to change this dynamic.”
 
“Karen’s initiative and leadership with introducing Williams-Franklin Foundation is really valuable, because our ultimate goal is to help students graduate with minimum debt and maximum opportunities,” Dwight Franklin said.
 
“We are looking forward to this partnership and providing our students opportunities to succeed within the natural products industry,” LaShelle (Williams) Franklin said.
 
People and companies in the natural products industry who want to donate a tax-deductible contribution to the Williams-Franklin Foundation’s Organic & Natural Health Scholarship Fund can select the fund specifically in the drop box when donating online.