Empowering Individuals in the Global Community Through Entrepreneurship
John M. Mackey (CEO of Whole Foods Market)As we have done business around the world increasingly we feel we have the responsibility to help those communities we are trading in. Our partnership, through the Whole Planet Foundation, with Global Vision International, will help our Whole Foods Market Team Members contribute to our mission.
In June 2007, Whole Foods Market launched a global volunteer program to enable select Team Members to participate in a 30-day immersion program in either Costa Rica or Guatemala where the Whole Planet Foundation is currently working. Eventually, this program will be offered in all the countries where the Foundation works. The program, managed by Global Vision International, (www.gvi.co.uk) immerses team members in local language, culture and community activities. Volunteers donate time to projects ranging from education to environmental conservation. While abroad, they will visit Whole Planet Foundation microentrepreneurs to learn about the businesses and experience the impact that small loans can have on the lives of people.
Sample activities that can be experienced while on the Team Member Volunteer Program
Volunteers who join this program are able to learn Spanish, work on a well respected turtle conservation program run by a local Costa Rican organization, explore the stunning national park with rainforest and coral reefs and explore one of the last remaining indigenous areas, all in arguably one of the most beautiful areas of Costa Rica. The project is based in the Cahuita National Park, which lies on the Caribbean Coast, four hours by bus from San José, towards the Panama border. Volunteers will be living at the Ranger Station, around 1.5 miles outside of the town of Cahuita, a typically laid back Caribbean village, lined with pristine beaches and palm trees. The project allows Volunteers to learn or improve their Spanish while working on the turtle research and conservation program, conducting night-time patrols, morning censuses and working with the relocation and hatchery program. The program assists in conservation of Leatherback, Green and Hawksbill turtles, all listed an endangered under CITES, and assists local families to improve their own standard of living via micro-financing, etc.
This is one of the best turtle conservation programs in Central America, run by forward-thinking and innovative, award winning local organization, and located within one of Costa Rica's most stunning locations.
Steve Gwenin, GVI Director of Programs, 2007
Volunteers who join this program have the unique opportunity of being immersed in one of several indigenous communities situated near our base town, Panajachel, a beautiful old town on the shores of Lake Atitlan, an awe-inspiring spectacle of sheer beauty, surrounded by volcanoes. Volunteers will be working alongside GVI Staff, supporting the leaders of the local indigenous communities to develop educational and community programs. The programs will assist children who otherwise would not have the opportunity of any formal education or who need educational reinforcement, and the local families to improve their own standard of living via micro-financing and small scale construction initiatives.
Thank you so much for picking me as a representative of the Mid Atlantic Region for the Whole Foods Market Team Member Volunteer Program. As you know, I traveled to Guatemala and worked on the Children's Literacy Project. This was the hardest and most rewarding experience of my life. The people of Guatemala, in particular the children of Pena Blanca, taught me so much. They taught me about humility, human spirit and what is truly important in life. I am still blown away by our visit with the Grameen Trust. To think that we, Team Members, were visiting with a community that receives money via micro-credit which is funded 100% by the Whole Planet Foundation. Seeing the process come to life changes your perspective. It is awesome to know that I work for a company that has a direct impact on the lives of others. I am humbled and inspired by our Global initiatives, core values and ability to put it into action. I recommend this program to all team members and cannot wait to begin the next phase as an Ambassador. I would like appreciate the Mid Atlantic Region, the Mid Atlantic Distribution Center and the Whole Planet Foundation for setting up this program and allowing me to participate.
Thanks again, Adrienne Pica, Buyer, Mid-Atlantic Distribution Center
All I can say is that this trip has changed my life and I will never be the same. I gave a brief recap at my Regional Marketing meeting last week and realized just how passionate I am about the Guatemala program. I couldn't stop talking about it and the more I talked about it the more excited I became. I want them to see the Allegro coffee farm and how beautiful the kids are! I also want to share with them the amazing job that Whole Planet Foundation is doing overseas and why we need to continue to support this important work.
With much appreciation, Francine Cabral, Marketing, Whole Foods Market Springfield
My plan is to do a presentation for my TMs at our next store meeting. I would like to make Whole Planet Foundation real to them through my experience. A lot of my TMs are from El Salvador and other Central and Latin American countries and it would be neat to show them they we are giving back to their communities.
I thought the program overall was very well organized and the GVI staff was just lovely. One of my favorite trips was to the coffee farm in San Lucas. The landscape was breathtaking and I learned so much about how an organic farm is set up and about how much work goes into maintaining it. I was also overjoyed to learn that each of us was getting 30 hours of Spanish lessons! The Spanish school was beautiful and provided the perfect setting for learning. My Spanish has improved tremendously. For me the highlight of the trip was teaching the kids. At first I was petrified because of having no previous teaching experience, but then as I began to interact with the kids, I realized just how much fun it was! I managed to teach the 5th and 6th graders the art of origami and some reading comprehension. The last day of school was very emotional and I did not want to leave! I promised myself I wasn't going to cry in public and then I lost it. As I started to hug my students goodbye, I started bawling. I didn't realize at the time just how attached to them I had become. Not a day goes by when I don't think of them and what they are doing with the new volunteers. Needless to say, I miss them very much! This volunteer program is just awesome! I feel so blessed to have been given the opportunity to go to Guatemala and help the children of Pena Blanca. I would go back there in a heartbeat.
Below is a list of organizations that offer opportunities in the microfinance or international development industry:
