Home Products How to Order Disorders Useful Links Contact Us Vitaflo USA’s “Formula for Fun Program” Celebrates the Beginning of Its Fifth Year!! Vitaflo USA’s “Formula for Fun Program” celebrates the beginning of its fifth year!! Formula for Fun was created in 2006 with the goal of bringing metabolic families, support groups and clinics together to have fun. Families, support groups and genetic clinics had been working hard to come up with events that their families would enjoy. The time, effort, money and dedication amazed the Vitaflo USA team. These same energetic leaders were also busy with work and responsibilities at home. Vitaflo USA designed the Formula for Fun Program to assist the metabolic community with planning, designing flyers, paying fees and organizing the details to create truly special experiences for local metabolic groups. We invite you to let us lend a hand and sponsor an event that fits your local group’s schedule and desires. Where it began…an amazing start to a fantastic program!! In October of 2005 Vitaflo USA sponsored its first sporting event. Monica Cengia of Vitaflo USA contacted John Paxon, General Manager of the Chicago Bulls, requesting a donation of basketball game tickets for the IL families with genetic disorders. When he responded with over 250 tickets for the Chicago Bulls vs. Boston Celtics game, the IL families hit a slam dunk. Attending the game together was an amazing experience that IL will never forget. That was the tip off for the Formula for Fun program! What makes Formula for Fun so special? All kinds of special people do! Vitaflo USA invites people with all types of metabolic disorders (PKU, MSUD, Homocystinuria, Tyrosinemia, Urea Cycle Disorders, etc.) to our sponsored events to meet new friends who share the same type of treatment plan and low protein diet. At the Buca di Beppo Valentine’s Day Party in Cincinnati two brothers with tyrosinemia met a teenager with tyrosinemia and had a great time talking. It was the first event they had attended where they met someone with their disorder. Knowing that someone else shares the same disorder can be very important. At the same party, a newly diagnosed young lady with a rare disorder met another young lady with PKU who was in the same school district! The families sat and talked about how they were dealing with the low protein diet when at school and still keep in touch! Anna, MSUD from MI, joined the fun on her 11th birthday at the Nuthouse Grill Party prior to the Lansing Lugnuts baseball game. Big Lug gave her a big “birthday hug” as the families sang. Anna and her family keep in touch with many families in the State of MI. Bailey LaBay, age 10, had a great time meeting other children following the low protein diet at the April 24, 2010 Rockford, MI Michigan Pasta Bowl Party. Bailey has a urea cycle disorder and another child with the same disorder from W. MI also attended. Each person needs to know that he/she is special. Feeling connected with others in the metabolic community is important for the entire family. A Big Lug hug for Anna, the birthday girl, at the Nuthouse Grill in Lansing, MI Bailey and Cameron La Bay at the MI Pasta Bowl Party….will I win the prize basket? Fun Events from 2006-2010 Some of the events Vitaflo has sponsored over the past four years include: Taste Connections low protein demos and workshops with Malathy Ramanujam, guest facilitator. Holiday theme parties: Valentine, Halloween & Low Protein Cookie Exchanges. Restaurant Meals: Buca di Beppo, Spaghetti Warehouse & more Bowling Parties Children’s museum/zoo tour Day at the Zoo Major or minor league game with a meal and low protein snack bag Family parties with a speaker Special support group meeting of your choice! Vitaflo USA’s Scrapbook of Formula for Fun past events Some of the exciting events Vitaflo has sponsored can be found in our colorful scrapbook of fun!! Danielle and Kenzie Foreman help make Vita Bite low protein chocolate fondue at a MI party. Monica Cengia challenges “Big Lug” to chug a PKU Cooler! Deb Horner, Dietitian, St. Vincent Mercy’s, Toledo with the Fasano family at Toledo Mudhens Event Shannon Miller, Dietitian from Nationwide Children’s Columbus OH, at Valentine Party IN Taste Connections Workshop Two friends at Buca di Beppo Halloween Party Dave Spiech, IN PKU President, at Vitaflo-sponsored PKU Walk and Party in Greenville, IN Dr. Bryan Hainline of Riley Hospital, IN at Vitaflo sponsored PKU Walk Day explaining his research that will benefit families with PKU (release from Dr. H) Dr. James Horner, St. Vincent Mercy Children’s, at the Toledo Mudhens event teaching his patient how to pitch baseball lefthanded. Dr. Horner told his story of being recruited as a left handed pitcher to play with the San Francisco Giants. He decided to attend medical school instead and takes care of children with PKU in OH. Laura Spayd, mother of new baby with PKU, learned how to be an expert at tortilla making at OH MACPAD cooking day. John at Grand Rapids Halloween Party in MI Fun events for all ages! Vitaflo USA listens to the interests of those in the metabolic community. We love to help you plan events that will be fun for any age group – toddler, school age children, teens, young adults, parents and grandparents! At the April 24, 2010 MI Pasta Bowl Party four adults with PKU joined the fun, some with spouses and one with a child. Babies, grandparents, teens, toddlers and school aged children all enjoyed a fun day of bowling and a pasta dinner at Sue and Rob Kerybson’s church. A special thanks to Sue, chef/Mom extraordinaire for her delicioso pasta!! Rob and Maddie Kerbyson at Rockford Lanes Ellen and Adrianna Angers enjoyed bowling! Formula for Fun is based on Vitaflo’s Recipe for Success Vitaflo USA takes each request for an exciting event for your metabolic community seriously. We work closely with two or three people from your area to plan your memorable day, including a meal with low protein foods. Please contact Monica Cengia, Vitaflo USA, at least four months prior to your desired date to schedule an event. This allows time to look at alternative ideas, make reservations, draft flyers for mailing, order foods and add the special touches to create a great time for all. Working together we can accomplish the best venue for your special group! Monica Cengia Monica.cengia@vitaflousa.com 937-760-1985 Parent and Clinician Comments on Formula For Fun: “The events my family has attended have been a wonderful opportunity. We were lucky to travel to our first event only 2 months after our daughter was diagnosed with PKU. We met some wonderful families who assured us that our daughter will grow up healthy and normal. The best thing about this gathering is we did not know who had PKU and who did not. My husband and I left the restaurant knowing that we will be able to manage PKU. I cannot thank Monica Cengia and Vitaflo enough for the chance to meet the people we have met through these functions.” -Laura Spayd “We have had two events sponsored by Vitaflo that were a real treat for us and the families we serve. Both events included a wonderful low protein pasta meal at the Spaghetti Warehouse in Toledo, Ohio. There were over 50 people at each of these events. It was an indescribable joy to watch these children, some of whom had never been to a restaurant, enjoy a meal and interact with others who share so much. A special thanks to Monica Cengia who coordinated the whole program and took care of all the details. She also provided wonderful desserts and formula ideas that all could enjoy!!! The Toledo Mudhens baseball game was the icing on the cake!” Deborah L. Horner, R.D.,L.D. Metabolic and Endocrine Dietitian Division of Pediatric Endocrinology Mercy Children's Hospital “I can't tell you how grateful I am that you have shared your expertise and resources with my family to enable us to experience new ideas and foods for managing our 13 year-old Olivia's PKU. We have been fortunate that she loves her formula but we know that it's likely her teenage lifestyle will dictate a change in her PKU management in the coming years. When Olivia was first born, and in those early years, there were very few options. Now we see -- largely through your programs -- that her lifestyle should dictate her formula, not the other way around. Over the past several years, we participated in the Taste Connections Workshop for low protein cooking, Indianapolis Indians Game and Buca di Beppo Meal, and PKU Awareness Day 2009 at the Indianapolis Zoo. Each of these events opened new doors for us and expanded eating options for Olivia. In addition to the important learning and experience your events provide, it's so important for Olivia to see others that live with PKU to be reminded that she is not alone. There have been many years where, if it weren't for your events, she would never see another person with PKU. I know it's not easy or cheap to offer these sessions but I want you to know what a difference they truly do make in the lives of us who live each day with the challenges having a metabolic disorder can bring. Hope to see you in the fall!” Sandra Cummings, MSW Chronic Disease Coordinator Marion County Health Department Vitaflo USA. 123 East Neck Road, Huntington, New York 11743