Thirteen elementary school children from Farrer and Franklin elementary schools in Provo thanked the workers at Nu Skin Wednesday for kits containing school supplies.

The 10-year anniversary of the Nu Skin Force for Good Foundation was celebrated by the employees of Nu Skin and United Way by giving back to the community and world. A Force for Good is a non-profit foundation dedicated to helping children throughout the world have a better life.

"I like science books. It's my favorite class," said Jared Araujo, a fourth-grader at Franklin Elementary with dreams of being a dentist.

A total of 10,000 educational kits were put together to go to 10 organizations, six of which are educational organizations -- schools or programs that help underprivileged kids -- in Utah that were recommended by United Way. Of the 10,000 kits, 1,500 will go internationally to help children in Thailand, Indonesia and Ukraine.

Kara Schneck, representative for Nu Skin, said 600 to 700 employees would be putting together the kits in shifts of 50 throughout the day Wednesday.

"Our employees have really rallied around this Force for Good," Schneck said. "It's one of the most fulfilling parts of my job."

Each of the kits have a notebook, ruler, colored pencils, eraser and scissors along with a book that was donated by an employee.

Blake Roney, chairman and co-founder of Nu Skin, said putting together the kits was more fun than a regular work day.

"It's a lot more meaningful than you realize," Roney said.

Karla Daley, the department manager for the International and Assembly Distribution Center, donated over 500 books herself.

"Nu Skin has done so much for me, and I've been here 16 years," Daley said. "This is my Nu Skin family.

Daley said growing up, her mother was a librarian and she was taught the importance of reading. She said she wanted to give that to the next generation. More than 4,500 books were collected ranging from the preschool to first grade reading level. United Way has been a partner with the foundation to help Nu Skin determine where the need is the greatest.

"You can't help every child in the world but if you can put a smile on even one child's face, you've made a difference in the world," said Susan Bradford, executive director of the Provo Downtown Alliance. "It's more than a notebook and a ruler; it's a message that someone cares."

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page C1.