Whole Foods Foundation's Micro-Loans Help 1.3 Million People

Mission statements seldom come simpler than the one guiding the Whole Planet Foundation, which aims to alleviate poverty through microcredit — small loans extended to poor people — in communities worldwide that supply Whole Foods Market stores with products.

The private, nonprofit organization established in 2005 by philanthropic organic mega-retailer Whole Foods Market provides grants to microfinance institutions in Latin America, Africa and Asia which in turn “develop and offer microenterprise loan programs, training and other financial services to the self-employed poor.”

Usually, these poor are women (90 percent) and typical loan amounts are, as the name suggests, micro by Western standards — often just a few hundred dollars. According to the Foundation’s comprehensive website, average first loan size in the developing world is $164.

But these loans, which require no collateral, credit history or binding contracts, routinely mean the difference between self-sustainability and hopelessness, allowing borrowers to establish businesses they couldn’t otherwise get off the ground.

To date, the Foundation has witnessed a payback rate of 97 percent on the staggering $32,095,574 (U.S.) committed to some 224,772 microcredit clients in 54 countries globally.

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US home sales hit three-year high as GDP revised up

Sales of previously owned US homes rose in November to their highest level in three years, figures have shown. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said sales rose 5.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million last month.

Meanwhile the economy grew faster than previously thought in the third quarter, at an annualised rate of 3.1%. The Commerce Department had previously estimated that growth hit 2.7% in the three months to September.

"Momentum continues to build in the housing market from growing jobs and a bursting out of household formation," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.

The US unemployment rate fell to a four-year low of 7.7% in November, and has been steadily falling from its recent peak of 10.1% in October 2009.

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Obama calls on Americans to help fight gun violence

President Obama urged Americans to keep pushing for efforts to combat gun violence, as he thanked hundreds of thousands of people for voicing their concerns to the White House over the course of the week since the Newtown shooting.

"We hear you," Obama said in a web video released Friday morning, responding to the more than 400,000 people who have signed a collection of petitions on the White House's We the People website urging a swift response to the Dec. 14 massacre.

"You've started something and now I'm asking for you to keep at it," he said. "I'm asking for your help to make a real, meaningful difference in the lives of our communities in our country and make sure the United States of America is a safer, stronger place for our children to learn and to grow."

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