Whole Planet Foundation

I just love it when the opportunity to give back is easy! I don't know about you, but everyday my mailbox is full of paper solicitations , all good causes, all requiring immediate action which usually involves a stamp and writing a check for a minimum donation. I hate having to sift through them as if one is better than the next but I support  my usual few and then move on feeling unbelievably guilty about ignoring the rest. 

You can imagine my happiness then when  I walked into Whole Foods and took my groceries through the checkout line only to discover that they have made giving to their Whole Planet Foundation as  easy as saying to the cashier, "Please add a dollar to my bill".

I love this way of giving. It's impromptu  and environmentally friendly, no excess paper or energy required.  It allows for good conversation between two people and all of their staff is well versed about the foundation and it’s workings. When you talk to anyone at a Whole Foods Store about the Whole Planet Foundation they're really proud of  it  and they should be. The Whole Planet Foundation's mission is "To empower the poor through microcredit" , in other words to give small loans of 300 dollars or less to primarily women in the poorest of communities to finance small businesses to generate income for them and their families. The loans are given without any collateral or contract in developing world communities that provide us with fruits, vegetables, coffee and other staples. This year, Whole Foods stores hope to raise in excess of one million dollars to begin to support microloans for women in South America .  Last year because of everyone’s generosity they were able to begin micro lending in Ethiopia and Kenya, sponsoring coffee production through through the empowering of women owned businesses!

On March 28th, the Whole Foods Store on Chagrin Blvd in Woodmere is inviting you to lunch to support the Whole Planet Foundation! For only $1.00 you can get a great lunch of a hot dog or veggie dog, chips and pop and they will also be raffling off many wonderful gift baskets, raffle tickets are $1.00 a piece. All proceeds raised that day will go to the Whole Planet Foundation.   I'll look forward to seeing you there!