Sharing Opportunity...

We are fortunate. No way to deny it.
While far from monetarily rich, our life is full: we have food and shelter; clean abundant water; work; access to school for our children; and a certain amount of access to health care (see earlier posts "A Hungry Man" & "Health care Blues" ). Our life is full of opportunity.
While taken for granted by a large segment of the world's population, this is not a given for an even larger population. Much of the time opportunity is limited in one way or another for people who are ready to work and embrace the responsibility it takes to achieve their goals.

One opportunity we have is to pay it forward. Take some of our good fortune to enhance opportunities for others. We do that in a number of different ways.
As parents, we help our children have the best life possible. From providing nutrition to teaching them to be responsible, conscientious, humans, we do our best to try to raise them ready to face adulthood.
As family we try to be there when there is a time of need.
As community members we volunteer to help fulfill the needs and services within our community both as individuals and in our business.
As Americans we vote and work for the greater good of our nation.
As humans we contribute to organizations that work for the good of all mankind around the planet.

As I have mentioned before, we at Simmons Natural Bodycare have some favorite organizations that we contribute to regularly. These include Heifer International, Trees for the Future, CarbonFund and Kiva.

We have just started a Lending Team, SimmonsNaturals Sharing Opportunity, at Kiva.
Sometimes it only takes a helping hand to give someone the opportunity to improve their situation. We have benefited from the opportunities available to us and want to share, so we started a team to encourage individuals and small businesses who wish to give a lending hand to other entrepreneurs around the world.

Personally, while there are many areas of humanitarian and environmental work to be done, we have chosen to support organizations who facilitate the long term work that aids individuals in achieving a secure standard of living in keeping with their culture and community. These organizations provide the tools and education, a small loan that must be repaid, livestock, or other building blocks that people can utilize to improve their lives over the long haul. While our contribution may be small, it joins with the donations of others to help make a real difference in people's lives.

A percentage from every 4 ounce bar of Simmons special Soap sold goes to help Heifer International in their mission to work with communities to end hunger and poverty and care for the earth.
By giving families a hand-up, not just a hand-out, they empower them to turn lives of hunger and poverty into self-reliance and hope. For every 12 bars ot the soap we sell we plant a tree through Trees for the Future.

Now we are asking you to join us in giving small loans to enable entrepreneurs around the world grow their small businesses and improve their lives by joining our Kiva Lending Team. It only takes as little as $25 to invest in someone's future. And, when your loan is repaid you can loan it again to help others. The perfect "pay it forward"! Learn More about KIVA.