WHOLE FOODS MARKET®

TEAM MEMBER VOLUNTEER PROGRAM2014 COSTA RICA SUMMARY & IMPACT REPORT

Whole Planet Foundation® (WPF) funds microlending

programs in Costa Rica where EARTH University

grows Whole Trade bananas which are sold in Whole

Foods Market® (WFM) stores. WPF is a WFM non-

profit whose mission is to alleviate poverty by funding

microlending programs where WFM sources products

as a way to alleviate poverty and give back to our

global communities.

Through the WFM Team Member Volunteer Program,

WFM gives Team Members the unique opportunity to

travel abroad with WPF to learn about WPF and meet

microcredit clients, see where and how WFM products

are grown, provide community service, experience and

learn from other cultures, and challenge themselves by

exploring exciting countries around the globe.

WHOLE FOODS MARKET®TEAM MEMBER VOLUNTEER PROGRAM

WFM TEAM MEMBER VOLUNTEER PROGRAM TRAVEL IN COSTA RICA

Trip 2

Trip 1

Community service project with WFM supplier partner EARTH University and

visit with WPF microlending partner Asociación Costa Rica Grameen

in Guácimo

WFM supplier partner Corsicana Whole Trade® pineapples in La Virgen

WFM supplier partner New Chapter’s Finca Luna Nueva

in Chachagua

Community service project with WFM supplier partner EARTH University and

visit with microlending partner Asociación Costa Rica Grameen

in Guácimo

WFM supplier partner New Chapter’s Finca Luna Nueva

in Chachagua

WFM supplier partner Corsicana Whole Trade® pineapples in La Virgen

Sloth Sanctuary and trip to the beach in

Manzanillo

Las Pumas Rescue Center and trip to the beach in

Guanacaste

21 WFM Team Member Volunteers traveled to Costa Rica to volunteer in La Argentina, a community near EARTH University, where WFM sources Whole Trade® bananas and pineapples. The f irst group of

11 Team Members repaired the La Argentina Elementary School and Kindergarten, installing a septic system and handicap rails and ramp for access, painting and repairing doors, fencing and electrical

outlets, cleaning and painting the walls and repairing the ceiling and doors. They visited with microcredit clients of WPF partner Asociación Costa Rica Grameen and learned about the the bananas that EARTH University grows which are sold in WFM stores. They also visited New Chapter’s original

biodynamic farm and Corsicana pineapple farm, where Whole Trade® pineapples are grown that are for sale in WFM stores. Team Members took Spanish lessons and learned about Costa Rican culture, food,

traditions and dance.

TEAM - TRIP 1- 2 WEEKS June 28- July 12, 2014

Bryan Castaneda (Northern California, Davis store)

Michelle Mcgrory (Rocky Mountain, Basalt store)

Maria Miglioretti (Mid-Atlantic, Virginia Beach store)

Corey Jens (Southern Pacific, Valencia store)

Sarah Farsh (Florida Regional Office)

Helen Castillo (Northeast, Tribeca store)

Tiffany Chiappetta (Northeast, Milford store)

Kristin Kangur (Pacific Northwest, Roosevelt Square store)

Robin Min (Southern Pacific, Kahala Mall store)

Morgan Srubar (Southwest, Bee Caves store)

Ken Johnson Rodrigues (United Kingdom, Kensington store)

2014 COSTA RICA SUMMARY TRIP 1

GROUP COORDINATOR

Chris Picado

COSTA RICA GUIDES

Victor Abarca

Victor Rodriguez

PROJECT COORDINATOR

Chris Picado

WFM TEAM MEMBER

VOLUNTEER PROGRAM

MANAGER

Genie Bolduc

TRIP 1 ITINERARY- 2 WEEKS

Saturday, June 28 - Arrive Costa Rica

Sunday, June 29 -Waste management, peri-urban agriculture project, organic dairy farm, Spanish lessons

Monday, June 30 - Banana plantation, EARTH student projects, Spanish lessons

Tuesday, July 1 - microlending visit with WFM partner Asociación Costa Rica Grameen (ACRG) and ACRG President Ruth Obando, Spanish lessons

Wednesday, July 2 - Visit ACRG related cheese production in Turrialba, EARTH Cultural Celebration

Thursday, July 3 - Home stay and community service La Argentina

Friday, July 4 - Home stay and community service La Argentina

Saturday, July 5 - Home stay and community service La Argentina

Sunday, July 6 - Home stay and community service La Argentina

Monday, July 7 - Home stay and community service La Argentina

Tuesday, July 8 - La Argentina, leave for Caribbean, visit Sloth Rescue Center

Wednesday, July 9 - Beach, Almonds and Corals in Manzanillo, head to Corsicana pineapple plantation

Thursday, July 10 - Visit WFM supplier partner New Chapter at Finca Luna Nueva, medicinal plant tour, learn about biodynamic and organic agriculture

Friday, July 11 - Finca Luna Nueva, head to San Jose

Saturday, July 12 - Depart Costa Rica

2014 COSTA RICA TRIP 1 ITINERARY JUNE 28 - JULY 12

21 WFM Team Member Volunteers traveled to Costa Rica to volunteer in La Argentina, a community near EARTH University, where WFM sources Whole Trade® bananas and pineapples. The second group of 10 Team Members rebuilt a Basic Comprehensive Health Care Clinic (EBAIS), that is a rural clinic for 1500 people. They sanded and painted new doors, removed old walls, built a handicap restroom, built

access ramps for the handicapped, built some furniture, washed and cleaned, sanded and painted. They visited with microcredit clients of WPF partner Asociación Costa Rica Grameen and learned about the

the bananas that EARTH University grows which are sold in WFM stores. They also visited New Chapter’s original biodynamic farm and Corsicana pineapple farm, where Whole Trade® pineapples are

grown that are for sale in WFM stores. Team Members took Spanish lessons and learned about Costa Rican culture, food, traditions and dance.

TEAM TRIP 2 - 3 WEEKS August 29 - September 12, 2014

Echo Lipten (Mid-Atlantic, Short Pump store)

Lauren Null (Mid-Atlantic, Short Pump store)

Judith Delvecchio (North Atlantic, Dedham store)

Matthew Vekakis (North Atlantic, Glastonbury store)

Michelle Pierre (North Atlantic, Medford store)

Kimberly Ponce (Northern California, Monterey store)

Sadie Miller (Northeast, Manhasset store)

Jessa Graves (Pacific Northwest, Fremont store)

Clinton Duckworth (Rocky Mountain, Pearl store)

Brianna Kremblas (South, Columbia store)

2014 COSTA RICA SUMMARY TRIP 2

GROUP COORDINATOR

Christopher Picado

COSTA RICA GUIDES

Victor Abarca

Victor Rodriguez

PROJECT COORDINATOR

Chris Picado

WFM TEAM MEMBER

VOLUNTEER PROGRAM

MANAGER

Genie Bolduc

TRIP 2 ITINERARY- 2 WEEKS

Sunday, August 3 - Arrive Costa Rica

Monday, August 4 - Waste management, peri-urban agriculture project, organic dairy farm, Spanish lessons

Tuesday, August 5 - Banana plantation, EARTH student projects, Spanish lessons

Wednesday, August 6 - Microlending visit with WPF partner Asociación Costa Rica Grameen (ACRG) and ACRG President Ruth Obando, Spanish lessons

Thursday, August 7 - Visit ACRG related cheese production in Turrialba, EARTH Cultural Celebration

Friday, August 8 - Home stay and community service in La Argentina

Saturday, August 9 - Home stay and community service in La Argentina

Sunday, August 10 - Home stay and community service in La Argentina

Monday, August 11 - Home stay and community service in La Argentina

Tuesday, August 12 - Home stay and community service in La Argentina

Wednesday, August 13 - WFM supplier partner New Chapter at Finca Luna Nueva, medicinal plant tour, night jungle walk

Thursday, August 14 - Finca Luna Nueva, learn about biodynamic and organic agriculture

Friday, August 15 - Luna Nueva, head to beach on the Pacific, The Mangroove Hotel

Saturday, August 16 - Mangroove Hotel, Las Pumas Rescue Center, head to San Jose

Sunday, August 17 - Depart Costa Rica

2014 COSTA RICA TRIP 2 ITINERARY AUGUST 3- 17

THE EXPERIENCEMeeting microcredit clients of Asociación Costa Rica Grameen

Performing community serviceSeeing sloths Celebrating with EARTH

Learning about bananasPlaying in the PacificLearning about tropical plants

Team Member volunteers

learned simpler ways to do

things, like brew coffee and

our it through a simple drip

system, and how to make

tortillas on an open fire.

They ate a lot of patacones

(plantains), rice, avocado

and black beans. They

learned about chocolate

and even taught their home

stay family how to make

s’mores.

The volunteers spent five

days in the community of

La Argentina learning

from their home stay

families, fully immersed

in the community, eating,

sleeping and working

there.

They took lessons at

EARTH in the evenings

to refresh their Spanish

or teach them basic

Spanish phrases.

EARTH provided a

cultural celebration

evening to teach the

volunteers about the

traditions, dance and

history of Costa Rica.

FOOD

CULTURE

TRADITION

WHOLE PLANET FOUNDATION MICROLENDING PARTNER

ASOCIACIÓN COSTA RICA GRAMEEN

FEMALE CLIENTS

100% 95.29%

REPAYMENT RATE

52,806

WPF SUPPORTED CLIENTS AS OF 9/30/2014

History:

The Asociación Costa Rica Grameen (ACRG) began

operations in 2006 as a partnership between Grameen Trust

and Whole Planet Foundation. It is a nonprofit organization

offering microcredit through solidarity group lending

methodologies focused on the poorest segment of the

population. ACRG started with one branch on the Caribbean

side of Costa Rica in the town of Siquirres and now boasts 7

branches throughout the region, with three more scheduled

to open this year. ACRG achieved sustainability for the first

time in 2013 and has continued that accomplishment in 2014.

WPF Partnership:

Whole Planet Foundation was the original ACRG start-up

funder with a grant of $1,215,000

Since the start of the project ACRG has been able to raise

funds from other sources such as the Costa Rican

Development Bank and Oikocredit.

• Total WPF Authorized Grants and Loans: $2,415,000 • Total WPF Funds Disbursed to Costa Rica: $1,865,000

Asociación Costa Rica Grameen's Approach:

ACRG operates in the peri-urban and rural areas in the

Eastern section of Costa Rica, specifically the Province of

Limón. They are the largest microfinance organization in

Costa Rica and the only one implementing a collateral-free

solidarity lending methodology. ACRG's rapid growth

includes opening 3 new branches in 2014 in the

Northeast section of Costa Rica.

ACRG borrowers carry out activities in small enterprise,

mostly commercial activities such as small stores, raising

pigs and chickens, handicrafts and food preparation.

Asociación Costa Rica Grameen

MULTIPLE BUSINESSES This microcredit client had diversified her business and

has a butterfly farm, a fish farm, and sells tropical fish.

The volunteers learned that by diversifying her

business she increases her earning potential.

VISITING MICROENTREPRENEURS Gabriela is a microcredit client of ACRG who makes a traditional cheese in Turrialba.

CENTER MEETING Team Member volunteers attended a center meeting of WPF partner

Asociación Costa Rica Grameen (ACRG) and got to see the procedure

of the microlending in action.

MICROCREDIT CLIENT BUSINESSES Team Members visited this microentrepreneur at her artisan shop

in the company of WPF’s J.P. Kloninger and ACRG President Ruth

Obando.

LEARNING ABOUT THEIR BUSINESSES The teams met several different clients with various businesses so that they can better understand the diversity of microentrepreneurial

activities Pictured above is Marilyn, an ACRG client who toured the Team Members around her small farm and shared her experience with

microcredit.

EARTH UNIVERSITYWHOLE FOODS MARKET SUPPLIER PARTNER

Information from EARTH University:

Since 1990, EARTH University’s innovative educational

approach has been preparing young people from Latin

America, the Caribbean and other regions, including Africa

and Asia, to contribute to the sustainable development of

their countries and construct a prosperous and just society.

EARTH offers a rigorous four-year undergraduate program

in agricultural sciences and natural resources

management and a prestigious, international faculty,

providing a world-class scientific and technological

education that emphasizes values, ethical

entrepreneurship and environmental and social

commitment.

EARTH was established by Costa Rican law in 1986 as a

private, non-profit, international University and was created

thanks to the support of the Costa Rican Government,

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and

the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Our Mission:

Prepare leaders with ethical values to contribute to

sustainable development and to construct a prosperous

and just society.

Our Vision:

Our actions are mission-driven to alleviate poverty,

promote social justice and build a future where our

communities achieve sustainable and shared prosperity.

Our Values:

Human development, Academic excellence, Ethical

behavior, Sustainable development, Social consciousness,

The Search for knowledge and Biodiversity Conservation.

In 2011, more than 1,900 individuals in the communities

surrounding EARTH benefited from the Institution’s

Community Development Program, which includes a

service-learning course where students work with small-

scale, local producers on their farms and with organized

groups to promote sustainable community development.

As part of this program:

• Since its inception, the University has installed more

than 500 bio-digesters to help farmers convert manure

and other organic waste into methane gas that can be

used for cooking. Several hundred more have been

installed in Costa Rica by individuals or institutions

trained by EARTH, and by EARTH alumni around the

world.

• EARTH trained more than 1,780 individuals in

agricultural waste management best practices.

• More than 70 small-scale farming families completed a

training course on how to implement sustainable

practices within their own businesses.

EARTH University and its commercial banana operation

employ more than 600 individuals, providing fair wages

and benefits, professional training, development

opportunities and use of its library and sports and

recreational facilities.

EARTH University

Whole Foods Market’s relationship

with EARTH University is deep and

so it is a pleasure to introduce Team

Members to all of the very special

people of EARTH who treat us like

family. Team 2 was in Costa Rica at

Earth when they were celebrating

their 25th anniversary with a “color

war”. Ever the consummate hosts,

the EARTH team invited Team

Member volunteers to participate.

It is such a gift to work with EARTH

on a community service project since

their roots in the community are deep

and they have the relationships

needed to ascertain what the

community wants and needs and the

expertise to get it planned and

completed. The Team Members

participated in two projects: one with

a local school and one with a

community clinic.

EARTH University is a leader in

promoting sustainable agriculture.

They give scholarships to students

from all over the world to learn

sustainable agricultural practices at

EARTH and even require fourth year

students to start a business on

campus as part of their education.

EARTH staff taught the volunteers

about biodynamic farming, waste

management and other sustainable

agricultural practices.

COMMUNITY SERVICE CONSERVATION

EARTH University’s values and mission make it the perfect

partner for the Whole Foods Market Team Member Volunteer

Program. They have a strong and lasting relationship in their

community and have been working with the community of La

Argentina, where the Team Members did their community service

work, for more than ten years. This enabled the volunteers to

immerse themselves in the community by participating in home

stays and work alongside community members.

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS

Volunteers spent time in La Argentina, a community

close to EARTH University, where they:

Constructed a septic tank

Built ramps with handrails for the handicapped

Built handicap toilet building with sink

Roofed and painted the handicap bathroom building

Washed the walls and floors

Built drain pipes

Painted the school and kindergarten

Built and painted the fence

Fixed door frames

Fixed electrical conduits

Wired with cables

Fixed plywood ceiling

Fixed doors

Painted walls and soffits of ceiling

Rebuilt a Basic Comprehensive Health Care Clinic

(EBAIS), that is a rural clinic for 1500 people

Sanded and painted new doors

Removed old walls

Built handicap restrooms

Built access ramps for handicap bathroom

Built some furniture

Washed, cleaned, sanded and painted the clinic

EARTH UNIVERSITYTeam 1 Team 2

VOLUNTEERS REPAIRED A SCHOOL: LA ESCUELA POCORA SUR Team Members repaired an elementary school and kindergarten, installing a septic, dug a drainage ditch, added handicap access

and a handicap bathroom, painted, sanded, installed new doors, built and painted the fence, fixed door frames, fixed electrical

conduits, wired, fixed plywood ceiling, fixed doors, painted walls and soffits of ceiling and made beautiful signage.

BEFORE

VOLUNTEERS REFURBISHED EBAIS Volunteers rebuilt a Basic Comprehensive Health Care Clinic (EBAIS), a rural clinic for 1500 people, sanded and painted new doors, removed

old walls, built a handicap restroom, built access ramps for handicap bathroom, built some furniture, washed, cleaned, sanded and painted the

clinic.

AFTER

REFURBISHING EBAIS

LEARNING ABOUT WHOLE TRADE ® BANANA PRODUCTION AT EARTH UNIVERSITY

LEARNING ABOUT SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES AT EARTH UNIVERSITY

NEW CHAPTERWHOLE FOODS MARKET SUPPLIER PARTNER

Information from New Chapter:

Discover the New Chapter Difference!

New Chapter® was founded in 1982 out of a desire to

bring the healing value of nature’s botanicals into

people’s lives. Our mission then was the same as it is

today: To deliver the Wisdom of Nature, thus relieving

suffering and promoting optimal health.

Based in Brattleboro, Vermont, New Chapter formulates

whole-food cultured vitamin and herbal supplements with

a profound appreciation for herbal synergies. The

company is dedicated to both scientific validation and

time-tested herbal tradition, and ensures that each

product represents a new chapter in its category. Wild-

caught Alaskan salmon oil, plant-sourced whole-food

calcium, whole-herb extracts, and a comprehensive line

of whole-food cultured vitamins and minerals compose

our product line.

Committed to Sustainability

New Chapter has long been working toward an organic,

sustainable world. We were the first in the supplement

industry to produce vitamins and supplements under the

standards of the National Organic Program (NOP). In

fact, our entire multivitamin line is third-party certified

made with organically grown vegetables and herbs. New

Chapter is also committed to avoiding genetically

modified organisms (GMOs) whenever possible. Our

products were the first vitamins and supplements to be

Non-GMO Project verified. We are also proud to be a

Certified B Corporation—a new kind of company that

uses the power of business to solve social and

environmental problems.

A Socially Conscious Business

We are committed to infusing every product with our

sustainable mission. Our concern for the planet is

expressed through every act of business, whether large

or small. New Chapter focuses on everything from

recycled pens and used office furniture to closed-loop

corrugated systems. We believe it’s vital to examine

business impacts and aggressively try to reduce our

footprint… to tread a little lighter on this planet we all

share.

Helping Hands

New Chapter is devoted to several philanthropic

partnerships, both at home in Vermont and across the

globe. We look for organizations focusing on healing, for

both planet and self. For example, New Chapter supports

the Bumi Sehat birthing clinics in Indonesia by supplying

Perfect Prenatal™ multivitamins to fulfill their supplement

needs. In Costa Rica, we helped create Semillas

Sagradas (Sacred Seeds) at our partner farm, Finca Luna

Nueva. What began as a single sanctuary for medicinal

plants vulnerable to loss of habitat and inappropriate

harvesting has now become a network of Sacred Seeds

gardens around the globe, managed by United Plant

Savers. These are just a few of the ways that New

Chapter focuses on human health and acts as

environmental stewards.

New Chapter 

MEDICINAL PLANT TOUR Stephen is the resident expert on sustainable agricultural

practices that they employ on the farm as well as the

medicinal properties of the plants.

BIODYNAMIC GARDEN Finca Luna Nueva has gardens for medicinal herbs as well as

food and raises livestock as well. Stephen toured the

volunteers around the farm and taught them best practices.

FINCA LUNA NUEVA Finca Luna Nueva is New Chapter’s biodynamic partner

farm set in the midst of a protected forest near Arenal

volcano.

CHOCOLATE Team Members were treated to a class on chocolate and taught the properties and specifics of cacao and then got to grind the cacao

nibs on a molcahete (grinding stone) and make hot chocolate.

FOREST Since Finca Luna Nueva is nested in a huge tract of

protected land, all kinds of unusual plants, insects and

animals can be seen on the guided walks led day and night.

CORSICANA WHOLE FOODS MARKET SUPPLIER PARTNER

Corsicana

Information sourced from Whole Story, WFM Blog:

In the little town of La Virgen, Costa Rica you’ll find Finca

Corsicana, a Whole Trade ® partner that supplies Whole

Foods Market with pineapples. But this is no ordinary

pineapple farm!

When you buy a Whole Trade® product, a portion of

what you paid goes into a development fund for the

community that produced it. The farmers and

farmworkers then determine how to use those funds to

meet the needs of their community.

Whole Foods Market sources Whole Trade organic

pineapples from Finca Corsicana in the valley of the

Mount Poas volcano in Northern Costa Rica. Workers at

Finca Corsicana voted to invest community development

funds in a learning center that provides courses in

reading, computer skills and English.

Costa Rica is one of the most literate countries in Latin

America, but access to secondary education is limited in

isolated rural areas, where many children leave school in

order to work. That’s why the community center at Finca

Corsicana is so vital — it provides an opportunity for 550

members of the farming community to continue their

education and develop new skills.

Whole Trade premiums provide workers and

communities with the funds to do amazing things, like

work with Whole Foods Market to open the state-of-the-

art learning center. There are four classrooms in this top-

notch facility where the center teaches English as a

Second Language and computer skills classes to adults

and youth. The computer room has 20 brand new

computers and all the rooms have some very cool desks

made by a local wood worker.

The money that comes from the purchase of Whole

Trade Guarantee products not only helped build the

center – it helps staff the school, too. The new learning

center plans to have over 500 students enrolled. And

here’s the best part: the school is for the whole

community, not just the workers from Finca Corsicana.

Finca Corsicana workers voted to choose the community

project and the committee that organized the project was

made up of workers, as well. You could feel everyone’s

pride in this ambitious project, one that took a lot of

planning, responsibility and hard work. But the workers

aren’t stopping with the learning center; they have plans

to build a children’s day care center and a gymnasium on

the same property. Both of these are needed by the

community, and I’m sure they’ll accomplish their goal.

Simply by sourcing food from farmers who care about

their community and their workers, we can help with

projects like these happen. Now that’s food with a

purpose!

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS Team Members loaded onto the pineapple express to be taken out into the pineapple plantation to learn the intricacies of growing Whole

Trade® pineapples.

FACTORY TOUR Team Members saw how the pineapples are propagated, grown, harvested, washed, selected and packaged to be delivered to Whole Foods

Market stores for sale. These truly are “pineapples with a purpose.”

WHOLE TRADE® Not only are Whole Trade® pineapples sustainably grown by workers who have good working conditions, a fair price is paid for them and on

top of that a premium is paid to be used for the betterment of the workers. Whole Foods Market contributes 1% of Whole Trade® labeled

products sales to Whole Planet Foundation to alleviate poverty.

TEAM MEMBERS IN COSTA RICA

“EARTH was AMAZING!!! The students were so talented and fun to learn

from, and I loved hearing their stories. We enjoyed being toured around the

campus by them, watching the World Cup with them, and attending the

Multicultural Fair. I also loved seeing where we get EARTH bananas! We had

a great time and the campus is beautiful. I definitely want to go back!”

MORGAN

“My favorite part was the home stay and community service because it offered a

legitimate experience of living in rural Costa Rica.

I WANT TO DO IT 100 MORE TIMES.”

LAUREN

“I loved staying at EARTH University! It was such an inspiration, so

beautiful, and I learned a lot to boot. I also really appreciated making

connections with other TMs from other stores. What an amazing

experience! Making hot chocolate from scratch was a highlight, as well as

eating tilapia and yucca straight out of the garden/farm and ALL the

delicious fresh food at the home stay! Meeting the microcredit recipients

was the most meaningful thing for me, and I will have those specific

memories close to my heart. I wish we had time and encouragement to

talk with them more. Meeting the microcredit recipients and the students at

EARTH was the most "real" part to me and really made an impact

emotionally!”

“I love EARTH University. It is such an

amazing school and its goal of fair

trade, fair wages, sustainability and

caring for the environment goes hand

in hand with Whole Foods Market

Core Values.”

KIMBERLY

“I had the time of my life on this trip! I wish I

could do it every year, and plan to apply

whenever eligible. All the venues we stayed

at were AMAZING!! By far my

favorite part of the trip was the home stay

and community service. My particular

experience was outstanding. Our home was

gorgeous and while the amenities were

basic I would not have changed anything

about it! Working side by side with the

people of the village was THE most

rewarding experience of my life! The work

was extremely hard but I enjoyed every

second of it!

EARTH made me speechless. From the

students to the staff to actual campus I was

in constant amazement and would be highly

disappointed if that partnership changed.

The people were so inspiring, friendly,

passionate and welcoming and truly made

the adjustment and introduction to Costa

Rica a delight. Aside from bonding with my

group and the chance of a lifetime to watch

the Costa Rican national team on TV in The

World Cup, my favorite part was the home

stay. I was fortunate enough to be placed

on a beautiful farm, with an amazing family.

Despite basic/minimal amenities, I enjoyed

every moment of the home stay. I LOVED

THIS EXPERIENCE!”

“EARTH University is one of the best places to stay and learn about so many

different things. The best experience ever. Will never forget the moments...”

KEN

MICHELLE

“This is a wonderful experience everyone should try to participate .you get to

meet the Team Members from other stores ,travel and learn new things at

same time. It makes me feel proud as Whole Foods employee.”

ECHO

HELEN

“Wanted to stay there (and at EARTH

University), and not return to the U.S.

What they offered is so aligned with

my lifestyle.”

“EARTH university was a great experience, I had a great interaction with most

of the students. I was blessed to speak the language.”

BRYAN

COREY

2014 COSTA RICA WFM TMVP IMPACT

21 TEAM MEMBERS

1 COMMUNITY CLINIC

REFURBISHED

1 SEPTIC TANK CONSTRUCTED

5 NIGHTS SPENT WITH 7

LOCAL FAMILIES

2 HANDICAP BATHROOMS INSTALLED

1 ELEMENTARY AND

KINDERGARTEN REPAIRED

55 MICROCREDIT CLIENTS MET

2 HANDICAP RAMPS WITH HANDRAILS

BUILT