Note: This is the latest installment in an occasional series of posts focusing on ways to celebrate the holidays without spending a lot of money.
I wanted to share with you one of my most favorite gifts for the holidays: the Whole Planet Foundation calendar sold at Whole Foods.
For just $3, you get a beautiful calendar filled with coupons for products sold at Whole Foods stores. And, every penny of your $3 goes to support micro-lending programs to help women in countries across the globe lift their families out of poverty.
Each photo in the calendar features a female entrepreneur who has created or expanded a home-based business with the help of the Whole Planet Foundation.
This year's calendar features women from Paraguay, Malawi, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the Dominican Republic, Rwanda, India, Cambodia, Turkey, Indonesia, Ecuador and the United States.
Women like Lourdes, who was able to expand her small grocery in Paraguay with the help of a micro loan. And Felicienne, a bean farmer from Rwanda, and Itha, a cookie baker from Sumatra, Indonesia.
Since 2006 the calendar has raised $300,271, helping more than 8,200 people better themselves.
Click here to read more about the Whole Planet Foundation. Click here for a list of coupons in the 2012 calendar.
