Empowering Individuals in the Global Community Through Entrepreneurship
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Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank will receive the Nobel Peace Prize on Sunday December 10, 2006 for fighting poverty and building peace through microcredit loans. Grameen Bank has provided over $6 billion in loans of to over 7 million clients in Bangladesh catalyzing a global microcredit movement that is now assisting over 113 million economically disadvantaged citizens all over the world to lift themselves out of poverty. From 4:00-6:00 p.m. on this Sunday, Whole Foods Market invites the public to gather on the Plaza Level of its global headquarters at Sixth and Lamar in Austin for a free celebration and web cast viewing of the ceremony.
"We're happy to host this event celebrating a great humanitarian and an organization that has been fighting poverty all around the world." said John Marsh, store team leader for Whole Foods Market. "We are also proud to be in partnership with Muhammad Yunus through our Whole Planet Foundation which provides microcredit loans in Central America."
The Whole Planet Foundation created by Whole Foods Market is fostering economic partnerships with the poor in those developing-world communities that supply their stores with product. Through innovative assistance for entrepreneurship, including direct microcredit loans, they seek to unleash the energy and creativity of every human being they work with in order to create wealth and prosperity in emerging economies.
Eloise Sutherland, a local volunteer for RESULTS, a grassroots advocacy organization focused on ending hunger and extreme poverty, wanted to create an event to help others in our community learn what microcredit has done to promote prosperity and to hear what central Texas members of Congress have done to support microcredit.
"We hope this event will introduce more people to this issue and help Austinites learn what they can do to advance the microcredit phenomenon. The Nobel Peace prize is long overdue in recognizing the wisdom of applying capitalism at the grassroots, producing substantial development gains. Microcredit empowers people to lift themselves out of poverty with dignity. Its effectiveness is far reaching because when the funds are repaid they can be recycled into more loans to help more people."
The Plaza Level at Whole Foods Market is located at Sixth and Lamar. Attendees can enter the parking garage and park near the "office" elevators on any level and take it up to the "Plaza" level.. The Nobel ceremony will be shown on big screens and complimentary refreshments will be provided by Whole Foods Market.
For media interviews with Donnell Ocker, the Vice-President of Partnership Development for the Whole Planet Foundation, in advance or onsite at the event, contact: Laura Zappi at 512-608-2403.
About Whole Foods Market®
Founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market (www.wholefoodsmarket.com) is the world's leading natural and organic foods supermarket and America's first national certified organic grocer. In fiscal year 2006, the company had sales of $5.6 billion and currently has more than 185 stores in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The Whole Foods Market motto, "Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet"™ captures the company's mission to find success in customer satisfaction and wellness, employee excellence and happiness, enhanced shareholder value, community support and environmental improvement. Whole Foods Market, Harry's Farmers Market®, and Fresh & Wild® are trademarks owned by Whole Foods Market IP, LP. Whole Foods Market employs more than 41,500 team members and has been ranked for nine consecutive years as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" in America by FORTUNE magazine.
About RESULTS
Also founded in 1980, RESULTS (www.results.org) is a grassroots advocacy organization focused on ending hunger and extreme poverty. RESULTS was an early supporter of microcredit — working with the media and Congress to build awareness and expand funding for this remarkable tool. Muhammad Yunus has been on the board of RESULTS for the past 18 years. In 1997 Sam Daley-Harris, founder of RESULTS, established the Microcredit Summit Campaign and together with key allies launched the Summit goal of reaching 100 million of the world's poorest families, especially the women of those families, with credit for self-employment and other financial and business services by the year 2005. Remarkably, that goal will be obtained this year! Last month a new goal was set to reach 175 million of world's poorest families with microcredit by 2015 and to move 100 million of the world's poorest families above the $1 per day mark.
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