Howard Schiffer – Finding Purpose Through Vitamin Angels

Howard Schiffer, founder of the non-profit Vitamin Angels, uses his organization to deliver life-saving vitamins to chronically malnourished populations, particularly following natural disasters. In his presentation, Howard stressed that every life has a heroic purpose and to not find your purpose is equivalent to sacrificing your own life. Howard found his purpose when he was able to combine his knowledge of nutrition, particularly childhood nutrition, and industry connections in the world of vitamins. He was able to obtain needed vitamins and get them to places throughout the world that needed them. Today, Vitamin Angels reaches 4.5 million children in Africa and 30 million people worldwide. They are able to prevent blindness and increase survival rate of children in developing countries simply by providing a 25-cent dose of vitamin A, once a year. Howard’s advice to Anacapa students is simply to “go at it full tilt” and believe you can do it, even if you have to fake it at first.