Upcoming Passport Event!

by laurelhurst, February 26, 2009 | Permalink

If you haven’t joined us for one of our passport events, you are missing out!  For a nominal donation, you get treated to delicious samples, great interaction with our knowledgable team members, and the opportunity to give back to your global community!

Our Taste of Thanksgiving event and our ChocolateFest generated such positive feedback from team members and guests alike that we’re going to try out another event- a Passport Event to benefit the Whole Planet Foundation (www.wholeplanetfoundation.org).  For a $5 donation to this awesome microlending non-profit organization, we will WOW you with delicious samples- make sure to mark it on your calendar today!  Friday, March 27th from 5pm to 8pm.

Hope to see you there!

Our 2nd art walk has come and gone…

by laurelhurst, February 26, 2009 | Permalink

… and was a big improvement over last month!  Our artists braved the wind and came up with some nifty ideas to make next month an even bigger success than this past month!  Join us Saturday, March 21st from 12pm til dusk to check out our 3rd month of 3rd Saturday Art Walk’s right here at the store!

Join us in our Campaign for Prosperity!

by laurelhurst, February 19, 2009 | Permalink

Every year, Whole Foods Market stores around the country host a Prosperity Campaign, benefiting the Whole Planet Foundation (www.wholeplanetfoundation.org).  This campaign is the life blood of the Whole Planet Foundation, creating tens of thousands of microloans to our community partners around the globe.  Microloans are small loans - usually $200 or less - requiring no collateral or contract. They are offered to the poorest of the poor, with a focus on women, wanting to finance self-employment projects that will generate income. Whole Planet Foundation is focusing efforts on the villages and rural communities that supply our stores with products such as tropical fruit, vegetables, tea, and coffee. Giving the poor in these communities access to credit through microloans will enable them to escape the vicious cycle of poverty by allowing them to use their own energy and creativity to help themselves.  Be a part of this powerful movement, and donate $1 at any Whole Foods Market today.  100% of your donation will be given directly to a microloan, as 100% of the operational costs of the Whole Planet Foundation is completely paid by Whole Foods Market.  Why?  Because it is our responsibility as a company, as a community, to take care of our global community.

ChocolateFest… a success!

by laurelhurst, February 19, 2009 | Permalink

ChocolateFest this past Thursday, February 12th was a HUGE success!  At Laurelhurst alone, we raised $460 for ChristieCare- as a Portland metro area, we raised a whopping $4,055!! This is more than double the amount raised at last year’s ChocolateFest, and I must thank all of our community partners who supported our success- number 1, our guests!  You purchased 811 passports in our stores!  Number 2, our awesome vendors who donated product to our event- Dagoba Chocolate, Sunshine Dairy, Moonstruck Chocolate, Lake Champlain, Green and Black’s, Think Bars, Rogue Brewery, Merchant du Vin, Lula’s Chocolate, Coconut Bliss, Petaluma Poultry, Cougar Mountain Cookies, and Larabar- these guys donated TONS of chocolatey inspired goodness to each of the Portland Metro stores, and brought the level of execution to our events up at least a dozen notches- you rock!  And lastly, but definitely not least, ChristieCare and their volunteers were an absolute joy to have at our store.  These knowledgable volunteers really helped remind us that ChocolateFest is about much more than cocoa, it’s about supporting the community that supports you.  Til next year…