THE RELIV STORY

Within a few months of each other, Bob Montgomery’s mother died of breast cancer and his wife Sandy’s father died from heart disease. The tragedies triggered a transformation in Bob and Sandy.

They already believed in the connection between nutrition and good health.  Now their focus turned to prevention.  They began taking natural products and supplements and attending nutrition seminars.  At one of the classes, they met microbiologist Dr. Theodore Kalogris.

The visionary Dr. Ted was wounded in World War II.  He was wheelchair-bound and in considerable pain.  In the strong belief that nutrition held the key to improving his quality of life, he experimented with hundreds of combinations of nutrients to help his body heal.  He came up with a powdered blend of more than 70 minerals, herbs, vitamins and amino acids that improved his health considerably.  He began sharing it with friends and colleagues, who marveled at how the product improved their health.  When he introduced it to the Montgomerys', they tried it for themselves.

Bob was already taking nutritional supplements in tablet and capsule form, which he later learned his body wasn’t absorbing well.  The concept of a powdered formula that could be dissolved in a liquid made sense to him.  Before long, he and the entire health-conscious Montgomery family became converts to the new product.  The supplement’s real trial came when Bob was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  He underwent successful surgery, and the tumor was benign.  But what impressed him—and his doctor—was how quickly he bounced back from surgery.  He attributed his rapid recovery to Dr. Ted’s formula.

Convinced that other people should have access to its benefits, Bob began building a company around the product with network marketing as the channel of distribution.  In 1988, Relìv was born.

Dr. Ted’s original formula became the basis for the company’s first product, Relìv Classic.  Soon after, renowned food scientist and soy expert Dr. Carl W. Hastings joined the Relìv team, working with Dr. Ted to fine-tune the formula and then to create a range of nutritional products and functional foods, while earning the company five patents.  The company’s scientific advisory board promoted successful clinical trials.  Those independently proven results, plus the company’s adoption of strict manufacturing quality-control standards set by the TGA Australian authorities—which are much more exacting than U.S. standards—have helped underscore product credibility.

The Relìv products have become a way for the company to nourish the minds, bodies and spirits of people in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.

INDUSTRY WITH HEART

Relìv co-founders Robert and Sandy Montgomery visit children in a feeding center in an impoverished area of Manila, Philippines.  The Relìv Kalogris Foundation provides free Relìv nutritional products daily for more than 10,000 malnourished children in that country.

While many companies donate to charitable causes, Relìv's Kalogris Foundation marches to the beat of a different drummer.  Funded almost entirely from contributions made by Relìv distributors, the Kalogris Foundation helps specific individuals in need rather than cutting checks to the usual charities.  Many recipients are people who have fallen on hard times and need a way to maintain good health.  For more than a decade, the Kalogris Foundation has marshaled the power of individuals to collectively make a difference in people's lives.

Founded in 1995, the Kalogris Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization established in honor of the late Dr. Theodore Kalogris, developer of Relìv Classic® dietary supplement, Relìv's first nutritional product.  The Kalogris Foundation has shipped more than $9 million worth of Relìv products to people across the globe, helping them with their acute and chronic nutritional needs.

Recipients of recent contributions include:

A boy who was born paralyzed from the waist down and is mentally impaired

A nurse who is wheelchair-bound due to an accident

A cancer patient who has a small child and, due to her illness, has no source of income

A couple who adopted three boys suffering from ADHD and bipolar disorder

Individuals like these receive the bulk of the foundation's donations with the remainder going to vital organizations such as St. Benedict Abbey, Mt. Saint Mary's Abbey, Missouri Girls Town, Haitian Baptist Seminary and the Sarah John Foundation.  Distributor contributions are the mainstay of the nonprofit foundation.