winter 2012

in this issue
Features
Investing in the Dreams of the Poor Most Successful Gala Yet! Plant With Purpose Saved My Life

2 4 7

Departments
Directors Corner Breaking News Gifts With a Purpose

3 5 6

Formerly known as Floresta Usa

InvestIng In the Dreams oF the poor

By Aly lewis, Grant Writer

Sometimes I wished that my children failed their final school exams because I was unable to pay for their school fees. ~Elikao Lyamuya
elikao is a mother of eight from the village of Mshiri in tanzania. Like any mother, elikao may have once wished for education, health, and prosperity for her children, but desperation destroyed her dreams. She wished failure on her children not because she didnt love them, but because paying for school fees would mean her family wouldnt have enough to eat. When forced to choose between feeding and educating her children, its no wonder she secretly wished theyd flunk out of school. Plant With Purpose exists to reverse the impact of abject poverty and to rekindle and invest in the dreams of parents like elikao around the world. Men and women are overcoming poverty, providing for their families, and turning their 2 ForMerLY kNoWN aS FLoreSta uSa

dreams into reality in a number of different ways. one way is through the formation of village savings and loan groups. In tanzania, community members are joining village savings groups and gaining access not only to credit and financial training, but also to an entire support system. about four years ago, with little confidence in herself and no hope for her familys future, elikao joined a village savings and loan group. With coaching from Plant With Purpose trainers, her group meets weekly to pool their savings, learn small business skills, and make loans. elikao is now able to support her eight childrens education and basic needs, aND her family is eating three balanced meals a day!! a result even greater than elikaos wildest dreams. as we invest in the lives of the poor, we see not only a change in income and opportunities for families, but also a transformation of hearts and lives as individuals begin to dream again. recently in oaxaca, Mexico, weve wit-

nessed this incredible transformation in an unlikely place: with a group of young people from the small village of Loma Chimedia. these 11 young teenagers comprise the first-ever youth savings and loan group. In their first saving cycle, they saved a total of $300! they have been so encouraged by their success that they have recruited even more young people, and they just began the second cycle with 21 children, nearly double the first cycle. We cant wait to hear of their future successes as they continue to dream and expand their vision. You can help hardworking mothers and children like elikao and the youth from Loma Chimedia as they follow their dreams and give their families the gift of health, happiness, and hope for a brighter future. together we can empower communities to begin to dream again, and invest in those dreams by providing the tools, training, and means to turn their dreams into a reality. You can invest in the dreams of the poor.
For just $1 a day, you can Sponsor a Village and give farmers the tools they need to feed their families, raise their incomes, restore health to their communities, and accomplish their dreams. Visit our website www.plantwithpurpose.org to learn more.

DIrectors corner
By sCOTT sABiN, Executive Director

In october at the Planting hope Gala, we announced that we had recently planted our 7 millionth tree. It is a significant milestone, and was justifiably recognized with applause. I still remember very clearly a number of years ago, when a well-known speaker, who was offering the keynote at one of our events, asked me how many trees we had planted so far in our history. It must be millions and millions! he said, enthusiastically. I told him the number was 600,000. Noticeably deflated, he mumbled, Well thats still a lot of trees, I guess. It was with some satisfaction that I noticed that this year alone, we planted nearly twice that number. however, whenever I mention the numbers of trees planted, I can count on a little pushback from our program and technical staff. those who are responsible for evaluating our programs are quick to point out that planting trees is an activity, not an outcome. In other words, planting trees is not our ultimate goal and counting trees does not tell you whether

we are making progress towards those goals. It might be helpful to think of the difference this way: if your goal is to lose weight, exercising might be an important activity that could lead to losing weight, but just counting the number of times you exercised would give you no indication as to whether you were actually losing weight. It is still important to measure activities, and it is wonderful to see how much our level of activity has grown, thanks to the partnership of so many generous donors and skilled field staff. But it would be a mistake to solely measure activities. In our case, measuring a change in forest cover would give a much better indication of progress towards goals, but it is much harder to measure. With some of the new technology available, it is getting easier, but it is a measurement that we do far less often. Nonetheless, forest cover is increasing. earlier this year I walked through the pleasant shade of young forests that had been planted in the last seven years in Mexico, and saw life returning to the land. other members of our team are quick to re-

mind me that even reforestation is not an end in itself, and every tree planted represents so much more that is not captured in that statistic. It is a small part of something holistic - one of a dozen factors in returning life and health to both people and land. each tree represents new economic opportunities, restoration of fruitfulness to farms and watersheds, lives transformed, and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus in both word and deed. each grove or orchard represents the stories of people like elikao, or the group of Mexican teenagers from Loma Chimedia, both of whom you will meet elsewhere in this edition of the Sower. When I think of 7 million trees it is those stories and so many others that come to mind.

scott sabin executive Director

WWW.PLaNtWIthPurPoSe.orG 3

2011 plantIng hope gala most successFul Yet!

We are excited to announce that this years Planting hope Gala was our most successful yet! thanks to everyones incredible generosity, Plant With Purpose programs received $380,236! this exceeds the previous record of $317,000 in 2009. thank you to everyone who attended and supported this years Planting hope Gala, including our dedicated committee and volunteers. We are overwhelmed with your support and truly appreciate your partnership. the night was filled with laughter, excitement, and generosity. one guest commented, It was a perfect evening filled with the Lord and a celebration of all that Plant With Purpose has become. Christ was clearly the heartbeat. the evening kicked off at Paradise Point resort with an exciting silent auction, followed by a delicious dinner, a live auction, inspiring speakers, a never-before-seen video highlighting our expanding Village Savings and Loan program, and a Fund a Need auction. the night concluded with a celebratory performance by local haitian band, Lounge a Dieu. all the proceeds from the gala will go toward empowering thousands of people to restore and transform their lives and land. as a result of this incredibly successful evening, Plant With Purpose will: - Launch 20 new village savings and loan groups, enabling poor families to start businesses and send their children to school. - Provide 200 families with water purification systems in the Dominican Republic and Haiti to treat water contaminated by bacteria and other water-borne disease carriers. - Plant 14,060 trees to reforest and revive the land and create opportunities for the rural poor. - Build 833 fuel-efficient stoves to improve the health of families and reduce deforestation. - And much more! thank you again to everyone who made the Planting hope Gala such a wonderful success, and for your partnership in transforming the lives of the rural poor.

Please save the Date for next years Planting Hope Gala, which will be at Paradise Point resort on saturday, october 13th, 2012.

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breakIng news

IntroDuce plant wIth purpose to Your sunDaY servIce

Plant With Purposes executive Director, Scott Sabin, would love the opportunity to speak at your church or home fellowship. We are now booking appointments for the fall and winter. Possible topics include: understanding the Connection Between Poverty and the environment, the Bibli cal Basis for Creation Care, What works and What Doesnt When helping the Poor (ideal for short-term mission teams), how Not to Be a hero (how we try to be the

the amazIng envIronmental meDIa awarDs

Lights, camera, action! on Saturday, october 15th, Plant With Purpose stepped into the spotlight at the environmental Media awards (eMa) at the Warner Bros Studios in Burbank. Plant With Purpose staff members tried to avoid starstruck syndrome as they mingled with celebs such as Nicole richie, amy Smart, Darryl hannah, Michelle kwon, olivia Wilde, Madeleine Stowe, Perry reeves, ed Begley Jr., and Frances Fisher. (Justin timberlake was the honoree, but they didnt get to meet him, darn!) this was an incredible opportunity to get the word out about Plant With Purposes vital work of restoring the environment and the lives of the rural poor. We were blessed to be a part of this event thanks to our amazing corporate partner, kellogg Garden Products, who is considered eMas go to company for gardening information and is also their partner in educating children about gardening. kellogg graciously allowed us to showcase Plant With Purpose at a premiere booth. We were armed and ready to hand out oaxaca pine needle baskets filled with eden Valley potting soil, tomato seeds, and fertilizer packets to the 1,000 guests in attendance. Gardner and Bloome, a product of kellogg, is donating $1.00 per bag sold to Plant With Purpose to plant a tree. (the soil will be available in most nurseries as of January 1, 2012. Visit kellogggarden.com to find out more.)
Thank you so much to Kellogg for your invaluable partnership, and for allowing us to be a part of this spectacular event!

vIsIt a vIllage
every year Plant With Purpose supporters have the opportunity to travel to the communities where we work to see life-changing work firsthand. upcoming trip dates are as follows:

savior to a world that already has a savior), and tending to eden: environmental Stewardship for Gods People (an overview of Scotts book). For more information and to book a date, please contact Doug Satre at doug@ plantwithpurpose.org or call our office at (800) 633-5319.

Haiti: February 5-11, 2012 Dominican republic: april 26 - may 2, 2012

Please contact Doug Satre at doug@ plantwithpurpose.org or call (800) 633-5319 if you are interested in participating in a vision trip.

waYs to get InvolveD

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to receive updates on our work.

Subscribe to our blog: plantwithpurpose. org/blog to keep up with the blog buzz. Become an advocate. Visit plantwithpurpose.org/take-action and find ways to help us spread the word in your community. Intern or volunteer at Plant With Purpose. Contact corbyn@plantwithpurpose.org.

help us senD extreme global povertY Into the hIstorY books

ending extreme poverty is a huge undertaking. But we believe it is possible. We are excited to announce that we have teamed up with Compassion International, World relief, International Justice Mission (IJM), hope International, and other world-class non-profits to form 58: an unprecedented alliance of global Christians, churches, and faithbased poverty-fighting organizations working together to end extreme, global poverty by 2035. the core of this initiative is based off of Isaiah 58, part of which says: and if you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. to learn more and to join the cause, visit live58.org and join up to work together to fast-forward the end of poverty.

the sower Issue #91

The Sower is published quarterly by Plant With Purpose.

4903 Morena Blvd. Ste 1215 San Diego, Ca 92117 Ph: (800) 633-5319 Fax: (858) 274-3728 email: info@plantwithpurpose.org www. plantwithpurpose.org editor-In-Chief: aly Lewis aly@plantwithpurpose.org Please consider including Plant With Purpose in your wills and bequests.

WWW.PLaNtWIthPurPoSe.orG

gIFts wIth a purpose

Does the craziness of holiday shopping really get your goat? are you looking for a gift that will breed joy like rabbits? What if there was a way to get all of your shopping done without running around like a chicken with its head cut off? Well, look no further! Plant With Purposes online holiday Village Market Gift Catalog offers a menagerie of alternative gifts that will let you check off your holiday shopping list with two shakes of a lambs tail. You can shop for animals, trees, eco-items such as stoves, cisterns, or latrines, family gardens, microcredit loans, and resources for community Bible study groups. Find the perfect alternative gift for your family and friends by visiting www.plantwithpurpose.org/gifts. or, check the gift box on the enclosed remit envelope and check which items you would like to donate. then go to www.plantwithpurpose.org to download a greeting card that you can print out and send to those special people in your life. to find the perfect present for your loved ones (yes, even the black sheep in your family), check out Plant With Purposes gifts at www.plantwithpurpose.org/gifts. avoid the holiday shopping zoo and give a lastingand not-to-mention-adorablegift without even leaving the roost!

here are some examples oF alternatIve gIFts anD theIr lIFechangIng beneFIts For rural communItIes:
Provide Animals: You can buy a brood of 10 chicks, a breeding pair of rabbits, goats, and sheep in honor of your loved ones this Christmas. Plant Trees: $10 Plant $25 Plant $50 Plant $100 Plant

an orchard (10 trees) a hillside (25 trees) a grove (50 trees) a forest (100 trees)

Buy a Fuel-efficient Stove for $30 Plant a Nutritious Family Garden for $50

goat

stove

trees

Important tax DeDuctIon remInDer

the end of 2011 is almost upon us! If you are planning on making a donation and having it count toward your 2011 income tax return, IrS Publication 526 states the timing of your donation must be as follows: Check: The envelope in which the check is mailed must be PoStMarkeD by or on December 31st. Credit Card: Your card must be PROCeSSeD by or on December 31st, even if you dont pay your bill until January. Stock and Securities: When electronically transferring appreciated stock or securities, the date of donation is the date Plant With Purpose reCeIVeS the stock in our account. Please allow at least 5 days from the time you initiate the transfer. For more information on how to donate stock and/or the benefits of donating stock, please feel free to call our offices or email kristen tucker, Director of Finance & administration, at kristen@ plantwithpurpose.org.
If you have any questions, please contact our offices by either calling (800) 633-5319 or emailing info@plantwithpurpose.org. office hours are 9 a.m.5 p.m. Pacific time.

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vIllage spotlIght:
Caf loMPre, haiti
By Aly lewis, Grant Writer

Plant With PurPose saved My life three tiMes!

Mr. Visnel Delva is a community group leader from Caf Lompre, haiti. at first he was skeptical about joining the group, but is now adamant that it was the best decision he has ever made. In fact, he even says that Plant With Purpose has saved his life three times, literally. the first time was during the hurricanes of 2008 when he received support from Plant With Purpose to replant his lost harvest, which kept him and his family from starving in the months that followed the storms. the second time Plant With Purpose saved his life was after the earthquake in 2010, when once again his family was in desperate need of seeds and food, which Plant With Purpose provided.

the third time was a just a few months ago when Visnel contracted cholera and was unable to drive to the hospital. Luckily, he was able to call rebecca, his Plant With Purpose promoter, who came to his rescue. By the time rebecca and her driver arrived at Visnels house, he was already unconscious. they took him to the local health center, where the staff refused to treat him at first. rebecca begged them to stabilize him because the hospital was more than two hours away. after insisting they put him on an IV, he regained consciousness and is now doing very well. Visnel tends a thriving agroforestry plot, and says that his crop yields have dramatically increased since he began using Plant With Purposes innovative techniques. his corn

increased from 40 to 80 pounds, his beans from 15 to 25 pounds, and his trees are growing steadily. Visnel is a testament to the many ways Plant With Purposes innovative programs and caring staff members are transformingand even savinglives. Visit our website, www.plantwithpurpose. org, or fill out the attached remit slip to learn how you can Sponsor a Village in haiti for just $1 a day.

WWW.PLaNtWIthPurPoSe.orG

Plant with Purpose 4903 Morena Blvd. Suite 1215 San Diego, Ca 92117 Ph: (800) 633-5319 Fax: (858) 274-3728 email: info@plantwithpurpose.org www.plantwithpurpose.org

NoN-Profit org U.S. PoStage Paid Permit 751 SaN diego Ca

plant wIth purpose saveD mY lIFe-three tImes!

read the inCredible story inside...

2011 plantIng hope gala most successFul Yet!

InvestIng In the Dreams oF the poor