Washington, D.C.(November 26) – The Direct Selling Association helped kick off the 14th Annual TODAY Show Holiday Toy Drive this morning by presenting the direct selling industry’s donation live in Rockefeller Plaza.

Fifty-two direct selling companies donated more than $7 million in products and cash to the Toy Drive. In its four years of participation DSA and its member companies have donated more than $28 million to the Toy Drive.

Participating companies donated items from books and fashion accessories to clothing and toiletries for children and families across the country.

“Participation in the Toy Drive is a natural fit for our member companies,” said DSA Vice President of Communications and Media Relations, Amy Robinson. “Every day, direct sellers help others achieve their goals through the products and opportunities they offer, but their involvement in charitable and philanthropic activities reinforces the positive impact direct selling has on millions of lives each year.”

The TODAY show toy drive is a project of the Today Show Charitable Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Donations are matched with the needs of more than 200 organizations with which the Today Show Charitable Foundation works. As part of this year’s Toy Drive, DSA member companies will send items to about 170 organizations in states from California to New York.

Companies from the smallest, newest member applicants to the largest, most established companies participated in this effort. Donations ranging from a handful of products to more than $2.6 million in personal care products were received.

The following direct selling companies donated products and/or a monetary gift to the Toy Drive:

4Life
Advocare
All Dazzle
Arbonne
Aura Stella
Avon Products, Inc.
Baby Splendor
BabyCrazy
Butterfly Worldwide
Cookie Lee
CUTCO/Vector
Dechant Sheer Minerals
Demarle at Home
DeTech, Inc.
Earth's Elements
Essential Bodywear
Freelife
Gems to Jewels
The Happy Gardener
Home Interiors & Gifts
Jockey Person to Person
Latasia
L'Bel USA
lia sophia
The Longaberger Company
Luxe Jewels
Mary Kay Inc.
Michele Baratta atHome
Nature's Sunshine
NSA
Nu Skin Enterprises
Oxyfresh
The Pampered Chef
PartyLite Gifts
Quixtar
Taste of Home Entertaining
Shaklee Corporation
SignatureHomestyles
Southern Living at Home
The Southwestern Company
Stampin' Up!
Swiss Colony Occasions
Symmetry Corporation
Tahitian Noni
Tanner Companies
TARRAH Cosmetics
Tastefully Simple
TFA In-Home
Thirty One Gifts
U Design Jewelry
Vantel Pearls
Xango LLC

About the Direct Selling AssociationDSA is the trade association for the direct selling industry in the United States and represents the interests of more than 300 direct selling companies. More than 90 percent of U.S. domestic direct sales are conducted annually by these companies, many of which also have large global operations. In the U.S., direct selling is a $32 billion industry providing income opportunities for more than 15.2 million people. In the U.S., direct selling is defined as the sale of a consumer product or service, away from a fixed retail location. Worldwide sales exceed $109 billion via more than 58 million salespeople. For more information, visit DSA’s home page at www.dsa.org, or the World Federation of Direct Selling Association’s home page at www.wfdsa.org.

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