micro finance Archives

Last night, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation released the highly anticipated 2015 Annual Letter outlining their hopes and dreams for the future. As a social good advocate and blogger, I greatly admire Bill and Melinda’s amazing work at making the world a better place for the people who suffer the deepest in the world due to poverty, hunger, lack of health care and education. The Gates are amazing advocates for the millions of voiceless people around the world and their work has already made an enormous impact in saving lives. Their annual letter is a key report that highlights where they are heading and I always am eager to read it.

Photo credit: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

This year’s annual letter is extremely hopeful. Inside the letter, Gates is making a big bet for the next 15 years predicting that the lives of people in poor countries will improve faster in the next 15 years than at any other time in history thanks to amazing breakthroughs in health, farming, banking, and education. Gates is envisioning huge advancements in the following key areas that will improve the lives of millions:

Half as many kids will die, far fewer women will die in childbirth, and people will live healthier lives because we’ll beat many of the diseases that sicken the poor.
Africa will be able to feed itself.
Mobile banking will help the poor radically transform their lives.
Better software will help all kids, no matter where they live, receive a world class education.

Whole Foods Market began as a small natural grocery store in Austin, Texas with a mission to sell meat and poultry free of growth hormones and antibiotics, unprocessed grains and cereals, and a wide variety of organic fruits and vegetables. Over time, Whole Foods Market expanded into other states and countries with its unique approach to offering whole foods while promoting environmental sustainability, local and international community service, and supporting employee happiness and excellence. Over the years, Whole Foods Market has grown into an international chain of natural food supermarkets operating over 340 stores in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Scotland.

Luciana is a microentreprenuer from Sao Paulo, Brazil. She used her Whole Planet loan to start a business selling fruits and vegetables. Photo credit: Whole Planet Foundation/Evan Lambert.

Whole Foods Market just so happens to be one of my favorite places to grocery shop as it offers many organic and “real” foods, not all the processed garbage that has become a huge part of the American diet. Through the work I do as a social good blogger and advocate, I discovered that behind Whole Foods Market’s widely successfully business is a foundation that is doing some pretty amazing things to give back to the communities in which they source their products.

Thirdeyemom

Traveling the World and Doing Good

Tag: micro finance