Special Announcement from Whole Planet Foundation
Celebrate Poverty is Unnecessary Day
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus believes "Poverty is Unnecessary," that it's a man-made problem that can be eradicated. On October 25th, every year Whole Planet Foundation® celebrates Poverty is Unnecessary Day and our anniversary (can you believe it's been seven years?!) and to recognize the support from the brands that donate $25,000 annually to support the foundation’s mission.
Suppliers Helping People Change Their Own Lives
Whole Planet Foundation's Poverty is Unnecessary Fund provides expansion funds for new microlending projects through a $25,000 annual donation. BlueAvocado, Kettle Brand Chips, Cafe Spice, Genji Sushi, LÄRABAR, ProBar, Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day, Nature's Path, and Odwalla all made this commitment to support our mission this year. Join us in sending them a big THANK YOU.
Meet Microentrepreneurs Selvam, Sreeja, and Sindhu from India
Meet microentrepreneurs Selvam, Sreeja and Sindhu. They are clients of our partner Microcredit Initiative of Grameen in India. The generosity of our supporters helps microentrepreneurs like them gain access to capital, enabling them to create or expand their home-based businesses. To date, the Poverty is Unnecessary Fund has contributed $225,000, creating over 1,300 microcredit loans based on the average first loan size of $164 in the developing world and empowering over 8,000 people with the opportunity to change their own lives.
Check For Events At Your Local Whole Foods Market® Store
Be sure not to miss events going on at your local Whole Foods Market stores on October 25th. To celebrate the support of our partners, stores will have special displays, coupons, products and tastings of each of the brands that are a part of the Poverty is Unnecessary Fund. Learn more about events in your area.
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Get Your 2013 Calendar
The 2013 calendar will be hitting stores very soon! The $3 calendar features over $40 in coupons from 25 different suppliers and includes great photos of microentrepreneurs from 12 different countries. Thanks to sponsorships from Whole Foods Market’s supplier partners, 100% of the proceeds from calendar sales go directly toward providing microlending support in more than 50 countries around the world.
CAURIE Microfinance - Senegal
CAURIE Microfinance provides small solidarity–based loans to over 40,000 women across rural Senegal.
The CAURIE mission is to contribute to the economic and social support of poor micro-entrepreneurs, principally women, by offering them appropriate financial products and services. In order to meet the needs of the rural poor, CAURIE works through village groups that are organized and managed as Village Banks with on average 50 women per group. The groups are always self-selected, and their leadership is elected by the members in order to best lead a loan group that relies on solidarity collateral. Membership is always voluntary as long as they meet the commitments laid out at the start of the program.
CAURIE was started by Catholic Relief Services and Caritas Senegal in 1999 and became an independent institution in 2005. The institution is based in Thies, Senegal about one hour outside of the capital of Dakar. They now provide financial services to an ever-growing number of rural clients at with an exceptionally high level of portfolio quality.
Meet Aichetou from Senegal
Aichetou is a microcredit client of our partner CAURIE in Senegal. She has her own beauty salon in her village. The 2013 Whole Planet Foundation calendar features photos and stories of clients like Aichetou from all over the world including Bolivia, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Rwanda, Samoa, Senegal, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. These microentrepreneurs have used their microloans to start or expand their home-based businesses in small-scale farming, neighborhood shops and textiles.
Thanks To The Suppliers Who Make Our Calendar Possible
A HUGE thank you to all the Whole Foods Market supplier partners who sponsor the calendar that allow us to ensure that 100% of all proceeds from the sales of this calendar go to the field. We'd like to personally thank Alexia Foods, Allegro Coffee Company, Annie Chun's, Back to Nature, Cocoa Well, Earth's Best, Garden of Life, Happy Family Organic Superfoods, Ito En, Honest Tea, If You Care, Izze, Kashi, Kit's Organic, Lake Chaplin Chocolates, Lucini, Mambo Sprouts, Mega Food, Muir Glen Organic, MyChelle, Naked Juice, Nature's Path, Nordic Naturals, Organic Valley, Raw Revolution, Saffron Road, Seventh Generation, Stacy's, Tasty Bite, Traditional Medicinals, Whole Foods Market and Zevia. Visit our calendar page for more information.