National Herbal Medicine Group Launches Legacy Campaign

The American Botanical Council (ABC), North America’s leading nonprofit research and education organization on herbs and medicinal plants, announced the national launch today of a new initiative called “Creating an Herbal Legacy” (Legacy) designed to ensure that herbal medicine continues to play an increasingly important role in both self-care and healthcare. The formal debut will occur on March 8, 2007 during the American Botanical Celebration at the close of the Nutracon conference and the beginning of the Natural Products Expo West convention in Anaheim, California.

Key volunteer leadership involved from across the natural products community will help ABC launch the campaign at a gathering of more than 250 academic researchers and industry leaders at its annual celebration.

The Legacy campaign will provide long-term financial support in three key areas. Individuals, companies, foundations and organizations will select the area(s) of most interest by designating donations to the following funds:

ABC Endowment Fund – Establishing long-term stability of the organization and ensuring its continued international impact.
ABC Scholarship Fund – Providing support to students and others participating in ABC’s onsite pharmacy and dietitian internships and ethnobotanical eco-tours.
ABC Green Development and Beautification Fund – Improving physical facilities and gardens at the ABC headquarters, including rainwater harvesting, solar electric generation, herbal medicine gardens, and more.

At the Celebration, ABC Board of Trustee Morris (“Mo”) Shriftman, Senior Vice-President of Marketing for Avalon Natural Products, a natural body/skin care company, ABC Trustee Neil Blomquist, formerly the President & CEO of Spectrum Naturals, an organic food and supplement oil company, and Loren Israelsen, president of the LDI Group, and the Executive Director of the United Natural Product Alliance, a trade association, all will help ABC launch the Legacy campaign to fellow leaders in the natural product community.

“Creating an Herbal Legacy is ABC’s effort to ensure a solid future for herbs and herbal medicine” said Mark Blumenthal, ABC Founder and Executive Director. “We anticipate great support for this initiative and are grateful to our many friends and supporters in academia, the health professions and industry who will be helping us initiate the campaign.”

ABC’s Wayne Silverman, PhD asks that people view this effort as a new way of supporting the entire herbal medicine community. “We appreciate and need annual support. However, the Legacy funds represent a new way to make financial support count in very specific and tangible ways. Supporters have wanted more control over how their funds are used, which is why we are so enthusiastic about the Legacy campaign.”

Gillian Christie of Christie Communications understands how vital the Legacy campaign is and has thus offered to help ABC launch the campaign. She explains, “There is a great interest in making natural products more accessible to mainstream healthcare and beauty care. The Creating an Herbal Legacy campaign is a great step forward in helping to raise awareness of natural health and wellness. I am particularly gratified to see one of the choices, the ABC Green Development and Beautification Fund,” said Christie. “I applaud ABC for creating choices in donor support and for offering one that helps to improve environmental awareness and conditions.”

For further information about the Creating an Herbal Legacy Campaign or any of the nonprofit educational work of the American Botanical Council, please contact the Development Office development@herbalgram.org.

About the American Botanical Council

Founded in 1988 the American Botanical Council is the leading nonprofit organization in the United States addressing research and educational issues regarding herbs and medicinal plants. ABC’s members include academic researchers and educators, universities and libraries, health professionals and medical institutions, botanical gardens and arboreta, government agencies, members of the herb, dietary supplement, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries, journalists, consumers, and other interested parties from over 70 countries. The organization occupies a historic 2.5-acre site in Austin, Texas where it publishes HerbalGram, a peer-reviewed journal on herbal medicine, a monthly e-newsletter, reference books and other educational materials. ABC has published three reference books, including one that is also a continuing education course for healthcare professionals, The ABC Clinical Guide to Herbs, containing extensive monographs on the safety and efficacy of 29 popular herbs. Information: Contact ABC at P.O. Box 144345, Austin, TX 78714-4345, Phone: 512-926-4900. Website: www.herbalgram.org.