Courtesy Nu Skin

Employees at Nu Skin in Provo are known for their generosity and volunteerism, but on Tuesday they went one step further.

More than 700 Nu Skin employees received sensory training and then worked to wrap 2,400 gifts for 600 sensory needs children across the United States, according to spokeswoman Sydnee Fox.

Nu Skin partnered with Kulture City, an organization dedicated to helping those with invisible disabilities, to receive training on sensory needs in the workplace.

“Employees took special care to wrap gifts in sensory-sensitive materials, avoiding overwhelming patterns and deliberately including texturally stimulating ribbons,” Fox said.

With Kulture City’s training, Nu Skin became the first business in the world to be officially sensory certified, Fox added.

Courtesy Nu Skin

“To celebrate sensory certification, Nu Skin hosted a panel of speakers including Michelle Kong, co-founder of Kulture City, actress Jae Suh Parker from ‘The Big Short’ and the Netflix series ‘Friends from College’ and Arnel Pineda, the lead singer of rock band Journey,” Fox said.

Each panel member has worked extensively with sensory needs over the years, helping Kulture City reach thousands of children in need around the world, Fox added.

“The founders that started Nu Skin in 1984, 37 years ago, wanted us to do more than just sell awesome scientifically backed, innovative products. We also want to make sure that we do good in the world while we work,” said Ruth Todd, senior vice president and chief reputation officer at Nu Skin.

“One of the things we’re really working on with this whole project and trying to become better informed on this inclusiveness is empathy, but you can’t be empathetic if you don’t know some of the challenges,” Todd said.

“At Kulture City we want to really focus on (inclusivity) and accessibility for anyone because society is not whole unless we are all part of it,” Kong said.

Courtesy Nu Skin

“These gifts that we are giving are long-lasting and impactful,” Kong added, referring to the presents Nu Skin employees prepared. “It’s really remarkable what you guys are doing, in taking a stand as the first workplace and company to be sensory certified.”

Though Pineda is a rock star, he recounted his experience with isolation and difficulty after the passing of his mother. For over six months, he was homeless and struggling, sleeping in parks and parking lots in the Philippines before making his way into the music industry.

“We just want to help out. We want to make these needy people know that they belong in this world, they have a place in this world, they shouldn’t be afraid of reaching out because there will always be a hand and a heart that’s always open for them,” Pineda said.

“Whose responsibility is it to create this world that fosters their (sensory) needs and makes a community for them? It’s not them, it’s us, (and) belonging to organizations like this that fosters that kind of need is wonderful,” Parker said.

According to Fox, the sensory training and present wrapping was a part of Nu Skin’s efforts to be a more inclusive company and a force for good in the world, not only during the holidays but year-round.

“Being a force for good is at the heart of everything that we do,” she said.

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