The Web Women Giving Circle has raised almost $40,000 for CARE. We are regrouping and getting ready to launch fundraising efforts that will collect the balance of $100,000 that we pledged two years ago. We invite all existing WWGC members and new members to join us on Dec.10, 2008 for a meeting online where we will talk about CARE and design a strategy to raise awareness and dollars for humanitarian relief.
If you are interested in joining us on Dec. 10, 2008 9 PM EST, 6 PM PST, e-mail Frances Flynn Thorsen or Joeann Fossland and we will contact you with details about the teleconference. The following video tells something about the "Why" of our commitment.
Our last day in Huaraz and actually in Peru, seems to have arrived quickly. I am wakened by the sound of suitcases being rolled over the cobblestones. At first, I panicked and jumped from bed, thinking I had overslept and everyone was leaving. As I peeked out the door of my room, I see dozens of teenagers arriving for the weekend and wanting our rooms! So much for sleeping in!
It's a beautiful clear morning and the snow covered mountains and babbling brook are a beautiful way to start the day. Life is sweet this morning at the ECCAME Hotel.
We get scrambled eggs for breakfast along with the rolls, matte tea and cafe con leche. We learn the kids are on a field trip for the weekend-they are giggly and high spirited. Then the bus takes us to the airport. There are 2 flights a day in and out of Huaraz. Crops are planted next to the runways and there are people working in the fields. Very different from the airport "security" we are used to! Our plane is late by about an hour, due probably to the pea soup conditions in the Lima mornings. The plane holds 16 and has one seat on either side. We get a nice boxed lunch and newspaper: What great customer care!
The CCS staff and van are waiting for us on arrival in Lima and we are taken back to Home Base for lunch. This gives us a chance to pack to go home, check our email and eat lunch. There is one very funny moment at lunch when the platter of meat was being brought from the kitchen and you could see signs of panic on many of our faces. It looked a lot like the guinea pig we'd been feted twice with. We had this fleeting thought they were serving us this delicacy on our last lunch! But, we quickly realized, to our delight, it was chicken legs and wings!
Our afternoon visit began at the EDYFICAR Agency in San Juan de Lurigancho (in southeast metropolitan Lima. The Credit Manager, Marco Guzman, is waiting with refreshments for us (Cookies and juice-no cuy!) When we had visited with Milo Stanojevich CARE's country Director, he had explained that the micro-development projects had been so successful, that CARE had problems with the scope of the lending and accounting required, so they had partnered to form an independent bank network to serve this purpose. EDYFICAR is a mircofinance institution regulated by the Peruvian Superindendent of Banking and Insurace. CARE-PERU is the largest stockholder. They operate in 8 cities to serve the entrepreneurs. We asked a lot of questions and discovered how differently things work in Peru. The average loan length is 2-3 years and the interest rate was slightly below the country norm but still surprised us when we heard it was about 3 1/2% per month! Many of the entrepreneurs had taken out loan after loan-some having taken advantage of using the sytem 10 or more times.
We visited 3 families that had benefitted from the loans and had thriving businesses that were supporting them and allowing them to hire others. We saw sophisticated embroidery machines in one house where about a dozen people were working in every nook and cranny to produce baby clothes. At the next home/business there were knitting machines and we watched the sweaters being made for the markets and learned the difference between baby alpaca wool and "maybe" alpaca wool! And our last stop was to see a business making religious, clay handicrafts that were being exported to Germany and to other places. We learned that many of these entrepreneurs began with $500 or less and have paid back and taken ever larger loans to be able to purchase the equipment we saw and to expand. They were proud to show us what they were making. They were living and working in two- and three-story buildings that were filled with people and supplies.
What a week! We saw so much that an average tourist wouldn't have been able to see. I know each of us was appreciative at the work that went into planning our trip so that we could really experience first hand the country of Peru.
We went back to Homebase, packed and headed out for out last dinner together at a nice Lima Restuarant recommended by the CSS Country Director, Kique Bossio. We had taken in a lot this week and certainly were getting tired, but we celebrated and toasted out thanks to MORE and to CARE for creating an extraordinary adventure.
The Giving Circle will be "regrouping" in the coming weeks. We want to complete the pledge we made to raise $100,000. That leaves us about $76,000 to go!!!! After seeing the empowerment that CARE is bringing to their projects, I know each of us has passion to share our experience and to continue to share our resources! Thank you MORE!!!!(And especially Peggy for your vision) and Thank you CARE (and especially Amanada and Carol for you dedication!) -- Joeann Fossland, Founder, Web Women Giving Circle
3:23 PM - Jul. 31, 2007 - comments {0} - post comment View more entries tagged with:None
On Tuesday we flew from Lima to the Andes town of Huaraz and commenced a trek over dirt roads and mountainous terrain to the small village of Uruspampa. There were "Welcome Arches" constructed by bowed trees and hanging flowers that greeted our bus at points along the road. We took in breathtaking scenery at every turn but nothing prepared us for the moment of our arrival.
The whole town turned out to greet us, schoolchildren met each of us with a glorious, fragrant bouquet and smiles and hugs. Pipers and drummers played a magical melody, an Andean welcome that will play in our hearts forever. Classes in school were cancelled that day. Instead, the children sang to us. They delivered words of welcome in their native Quechua and in Spanish. and then the music started to play again. The children smiled. They walked up to each of us and took our hands, one at a time and then we all danced.
...and danced
...and danced
... and danced.
After our dance we spoke with teachers and townspeople. Some teachers walk to work each day ... a three-hour walk each way ... and they arrive smiling and committed ... during the rainy season teachers arrive at work covered in mud .. salary for teachers is just a little more than $200 a month.
"My motivation is my students' face. To see their faces and be able to pull them out of sadness because they do not understand, or think they aren't smart. That is what motivates me to do this job." -- Yolanda Ayala Milla
CARE Peru's New Bilingual Intercultural Education in the Andes Project (EDUBINA) aims to improve access to a quality basic bilingual intercultural education for 1,833 students from eighteen poor rural communities of three districts in the province of Carhuaz and districts adjoining the others in the province of Huaraz, in the department of Ancash. The activities are diversified curriculum development, training for school principals, teachers and experts, promoting gender sensitivity in education management, community workshops and promoting bilingual (Spanish and Quechua) and intercultural education through local government and media.
Bilingual education is important because Quechua is the only language spoken by 80% of the children in these communities. Unless they learn Spanish, these children are often unable to assimilate into other schools as they get older. Without Spanish language skills, they typically fall behind and drop out of school.
In the meantime, the children and the teachers of Uruspampa taught Las Gringas a lesson they will never forget ... a lesson about the power of the human spirit ... the magic of pure love ...
CARE is doing a magnificent job in Peru ... and children and families in the Andes are beneficiaries of educational benefits ... The Web Women Giving Circle and More Magazine had the extraordinary opportunity to meet the children and the teachers face to face ... and we were the beneficiaries of kindness and generosity dispensed in joyful abundance ... in a region where many families subsist on less than $1 a day ... it gives one pause for thought. --Frances Flynn Thorsen
8:09 AM - Jun. 10, 2007 - comments {1} - post comment View more entries tagged with:None
It's been a busy week for Web Women Giving Circle Founder Joeann Fossland, who has been traveling through the blogosphere to talk about CARE and philanthropy.
Beverly Hills: Philanthropic lifestyles of the rich and the realty professionals who serve them was the theme of the interview at Bernice Ross' Luxury Clues earlier this week.
Maryland: Beltway Artist Tammy Vitale's Women, Art, Life: Weaving It All Together took Joeann back to her roots and into the artsy neighborhood of the blogosphere for an interview and some creative meanderings. There's a lot of nice color and art on this stop! Surf around this blog for some creative fun.
Las Vegas: Nevada Blog REALTOR Chris Shouse welcomed her bloggy guest with a perfectly chilled bottle of Virtual Moet & Chandon Dom Perignon Rose Vintage 1996, served in an Orefors crystal flute, with FRESH Pacific Oysters and Shrimp flown in for the occasion!!! Additionally, she had a bath be drawn for her prior to her arrival, with champagne caress bubbles and bath oil. "How much better can it get????", asked the bloggy diva.
Amissville, VA: Joeann's whirlwind transcontinental travel brought her back to Northern VA Real Estate Notes with host Julie Emery. They talked about CARE and philanthropy in a discussion about how REALTORS can "give back" to their communities.
West Valley, CA: Joeann is back across the country to Southern Californiatoday for a nice chat with REALTOR Shelly Slovin. They talk about real estate "community" and the role that members play in helping to make the world a better place.
Last year Web Women Giving Circle Founder and Master Coach Joeann Fossland introduced me to the concept of The Law of Attraction. I read Michael Lozier's Law of Attraction book and started to work with the principle in many areas of my life. I recently saw The Secret movie and had another thought about how to apply LOA to our philanthropic blog. We have added the words Love,Hope, and Abundance to our Categories.
Starting today, we will substitute words of deficit with words of plenty, we will endeavor to use words of hope to replace words of despair. And we will attract abundance for millions of hopeful children on the planet. And, by the way, that little word "we" means you and me 8-) What do you say? "Yes" is the most attractive word I know! -- Frances Flynn Thorsen
I've launched my virtual tour for CARE to promote the Real Estate Premiums Package and the Shopping Alliance and Book Clubsponsored by the Web Women Giving Circle for CARE. We could use a few more bloggers to participate. In a nutshell, we set a date, I post it on my website as an event with links and love and hugs to you. Then, on the set date, you post an interview (we'll conduct it via email, to keep it easy on everyone) that we call a stop on the CARE tour and everyone clicks through that day to read and love your blog (or web site). Book a date here!-- Joeann Fossland, Founder, Web Women Giving Circle
The Web Women Giving Circle Book Club and Shopping Alliance is a new web site offering book reviews and Amazon shopping with affiliate proceeds donated to CARE. Considering buying books and other products at Amazon for holiday gift giving? Purchase them here and help the needy at the same time!
Add your own book review at our new web site! All affiliate dollars from purchases made here will be donated to CARE.
2004 CARE Stefan Pleger The photo at the left may seem like an odd graphic to use in conjunction with a story about a group of real estate and coaching professionals, but it's pictures like these that tell the story about why we are engaged efforts to raise $100,00 for CARE. (There are more photos like this at the Inspiration category link.)
The Web Women Giving Circle is raising money to benefit CARE. Buy a premium package for $20 and receive items valued at $299.95. Not interested in premiums? You can still help CARE. Donate here.
"...this is a great use of a blog." -- Saul Klein, President, Internet Crusade. (He said this when we launched the Web Women Giving Circle blog on July 23, 2006.)
Members of the Web Women Giving Circle are thrilled and delighted with the hearty response to the Web Women Giving Circle mission and we would like to take a moment to thank Saul Klein, John Reilly, and Mike Barnett of Internet Crusade for providing a variety of web publishing platforms that make it possible for us to "get viral" in this effort! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
Note from Web Women Giving Circle FounderJoeann Fossland:
"It is easy to hurriedly flit from one thing to the next, never slowing down enough to make sure that people who help us know how much they are appreciated....
"so I want to STOP
"and THANK John Reilly, Mike Barnett and Saul Klein for their vision in creating an online community!
"Gentlemen (and friends), my heart is gladdened by the experience of knowing each of you and for what you have provided the many that take part in these Listservs. To give us a forum, at no charge, to connect and communicate here, to build our blogs for free and to be part of a community that cares is really such an incredible gift. What value!
"John, Mike and Saul:
"What you have made available to us is amazing. I am a believer in the Law of Attraction and I think your generosity is a wonderful model for us all to notice. When we give, it enriches the world and makes life a little easier for others. In doing that, the upward spiral continues to touch more and more. So, as agents learn here ways to run better businesses and serve their clients better, they can prosper and contribute to their communities and their clients are left with a good impression of real estate agents, instead of the often negative press. Thanks for making a difference in the world!
"As my good friend, Fran Thorsen, has been reminding people....she and I and quite a few other amazing people are trying to raise $100,000 for CARE by giving you some wonderful premiums and a chance at $44,000+ in prizes by your investment in the Take AN AGENT TO THE TOP RAFFLE. Many of you have generously jumped in. I also want to give you a public THANKS to each of you for wanting to make a difference in the world. You see, I believe, while we may not be able to change some of the awful situations, we can make a difference-one person at a time......Thank you for supporting us is trying to make a BIG impact. Your $20 (or more) makes a HUGE difference in the lives of others.
"Thanks for ... this great raffle and the great cause it supports. I've bought my tickets and hope I win some of the absolutely phenomenal prizes. Just for buying my tickets I've already gotten a bunch of great tools and motivational information. Great women (and men) involved should be congratulated for doing something that we all should be thinking about. Giving back-- and not just taking. for all your hard work. XOXOXO" -- Alice Newman, e-PRO, REALTOR, Keller Williams Realty Austin, Austin, TX, Alice From Dallas Sells Austin!
The Take An Agent To The Top Raffle to benefit CARE features prizes valued at more than $40,000. The drawing will be held November 18 at Miraval in Tucson, AZ. Buy tickets online. All ticket purchasers will receive valuable premiums.
Not interested in a raffle? You can still help CARE. Donate here.
"I just went in and looked around at the raffle prizes you've put together, and WHAT GREAT PRIZES!! Congratulations to all who worked on putting this together. Those packages are simply amazing!
"Thanks for sharing this link! http://www.joeann.com/wwcgprizes.htm I'm going back right now and buying my ticket, and I surely hope it's one of the lucky ones! I could use some of those products right now!!! ;-)) And I just noticed that just for buying a ticket, you get some gifts....how cool is that!!!?" -- Ann Cummings, JIM, QOMD, RE/MAX Coast to Coast, Portsmouth, NH, Servicing the Coastal Areas of NH & Southern Maine
The Take An Agent To The Top Raffle to benefit CARE features prizes valued at more than $40,000. The drawing will be held November 18 at Miraval in Tucson, AZ. Buy tickets online. All ticket purchasers will receive valuable premiums.
Not interested in a raffle? You can still help CARE. Donate here.
The Web Women Giving Circle has launched a raffle extravaganza for real estate professionals, with prizes valued at more than $45,000 and a GRAND PRIZE worth more than $22,000 in real estate products and services including advanced web products, coaching services, books, virtual assistant services, training CDs from real estate luminaries, and much more.
Tickets are available through WWGC members and online at for $20 each. All ticket purchasers will receive valuable premiums ranging from $179.95 for single ticket purchasers to $368.90 for purchasers of six tickets. Only 6,000 raffle tickets were printed.
Master Coach Joeann Fossland, leader of the Web Women Giving Circle, and publisher of the Web Women Giving Circle Blog, was named one of the Top 10 Women Real Estate Bloggers 2006 by Sellsius Real Estate Blog:
"Real Estate blogging is in its infancy. The few of us that are blogging today do it because we love real estate and we have unique expertise and experience to share with others. One thing we are truly excited about is the growing trend of passionate female Broker/Agent bloggers that are making their mark as pioneers of real estate blogging. They all have one thing in common that makes them shine - the power of knowledge gained through hands on experience. We applaud them because they set examples for the next generation of Brokers and Agents. They are respected by their peers and cherished by their clients and customers. They have strong opinions which make them stand out from the crowd. They set new standards for all to follow. If we had a prize to offer we would give it to them but we don’t. All we can say is THANK YOU!"--sellsius blog
Joeann Fossland's recent blog post Negotiate Like a Pro was cited as a favorite blog entry. We couldn't agree more!!
Joeann invites you to help feed children in impoverished countries. Donate here.
"I attended a Business Planning retreat last November and heard Joeann Fossland talk about connecting vision and goals. One of my lifelong dreams and goals centers around aid to Africa. In November I put "Aid to Africa" on my 2006 To-Do list. Joeann issued a Pay It Forward challenge at the same time: '...do a favor for another person-- without any expectation of being paid back. Then make a request that the recipient of that favor do the same for someone else: ideally for three other people. The unconditional favors can be large or small. It doesn't have to be a big thing. Make the world a better place by giving before you are asked!'
"When Joeann told me that she was starting a CARE More Giving Circle it seemed like the perfect step in a logical sequence of events for people who want to make a difference in the world. I am delighted to work with a group of professional women who are leveraging their talents and resources to empower impoverished women, to elevate their living conditions, and to supplant poverty with abundance." --Frances Flynn Thorsen
You can help feed children in impoverished countries. Donate here.
"The poverty of our century is unlike that of any other. It is not, as poverty was before, the result of natural scarcity, but of a set of priorities imposed upon the rest of the world by the rich. Consequently, the modern poor are not pitied ... but written off as trash. The twentieth-century consumer economy has produced the first culture for which a beggar is a reminder of nothing." --John Berger (b. 1926), British author, critic. repr. In Keeping a Rendezvous (1992). “The Soul and the Operator,” Expressen (Stockholm, March 19, 1990).
You can help feed children in impoverished countries. Donate here.
Can you spare $20? If you can, I want to extend an invitation to you to use it to make a difference with impoverished women. (and it's ok to send more if you want! :>) I am excited about starting The Web Women Giving Circle. For 2006, we will be supporting the CARE More Challenge. More Magazine is partnering with CARE to help fund the organization's mission to eradicate poverty by working with women in 70 countries worldwide.
"We know how much women enjoy being with their friends and doing things together, so we are inviting women across the country to join together in 'giving circles' to benefit CARE's work around the globe," says Peggy Northrop, editor-in-chief of More. "Millions of women and girls live on less than one dollar a day, and empowering them is the key to lifting their communities out of poverty. The best part for me, is that our winning group -- the Giving Circle who raises the most money by the end of the year -- will get to travel to Peru with me on a volunteer vacation and see CARE's work up close."
You can donate hereor by making your check out to CARE and mailing it to Joeann Fossland, P.O. Box 133, Cortaro, AZ 85652
OR......If you are willing to really play big and join as one of the Circle Members,
"'If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desires of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness."--Isaiah 58:10 Donation and Web Women Giving Circle information here..
Retired Danish teacher Birte Thorsen plays with the children of Toamasina, Madagascar.
I am pleased to join the finest coaches and trainers in the real estate industry as well as other real estate professionals in the Web Women Giving Circle. This group will raise funds for CARE to answer a challenge by More Magazine to help eradicate poverty in impoverished regions of the globe. Master Coach Joeann Fossland is the leader of the Giving Circle. CARE is a wonderful organization that reaches every corner of the globe. Other coach members of the Giving Circle include Molly Gordon, MCC,Bernice L. Ross, Ph.D., MCC,Coco Fossland,Patti Kouri. Real estate professionals include Frances Flynn Thorsen in Pennsylvania, and Beth Cross in Missouri, and Tucson professionals Mona Lee DeVlaminck and Lauren Klase. --Frances Flynn Thorsen
You can help feed children in impoverished countries. Donate here.
5:29 AM - Jul. 14, 2006 - comments {1} - post comment View more entries tagged with:None
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Our last day in Huaraz and actually in Peru, seems to have arrived quickly. I am wakened by the sound of suitcases being rolled over the cobblestones. At first, I panicked and jumped from bed, thinking I had overslept and everyone was leaving. As I peeked out the door of my room, I see dozens of teenagers arriving for the weekend and wanting our rooms! So much for sleeping in!
The CCS staff and van are waiting for us on arrival in Lima and we are taken back to Home Base for lunch. This gives us a chance to pack to go home, check our email and eat lunch. There is one very funny moment at lunch when the platter of meat was being brought from the kitchen and you could see signs of panic on many of our faces. It looked a lot like the guinea pig we'd been feted twice with. We had this fleeting thought they were serving us this delicacy on our last lunch! But, we quickly realized, to our delight, it was chicken legs and wings!
The whole town turned out to greet us, schoolchildren met each of us with a glorious, fragrant bouquet and smiles and hugs. Pipers and drummers played a magical melody, an Andean welcome that will play in our hearts forever. Classes in school were cancelled that day. Instead, the children sang to us. They delivered words of welcome in their native Quechua and in Spanish. and then the music started to play again. The children smiled. They walked up to each of us and took our hands, one at a time and then we all danced.
...and danced
...and danced
CARE Peru's New Bilingual Intercultural Education in the Andes Project (EDUBINA) aims to improve access to a quality basic bilingual intercultural education for 1,833 students from eighteen poor rural communities of three districts in the province of Carhuaz and districts adjoining the others in the province of Huaraz, in the department of Ancash. The activities are diversified curriculum development, training for school principals, teachers and experts, promoting gender sensitivity in education management, community workshops and promoting bilingual (Spanish and Quechua) and intercultural education through local government and media.
Beverly Hills: Philanthropic lifestyles of the rich and the realty professionals who serve them was the theme of the interview at Bernice Ross' 
Maryland: Beltway Artist Tammy Vitale's 
Southern California: Michael Trust has some questions and answers about real estate, CARE, and humanitarian outreach in his
Las Vegas: 
Amissville, VA: Joeann's whirlwind transcontinental travel brought her back to 
West Valley, CA: Joeann is back across the country to 
The photo at the left may seem like an odd graphic to use in conjunction with a story about a group of real estate and coaching professionals, but it's pictures like these that tell the story about why we are engaged efforts to raise $100,00 for CARE. (There are more photos like this at the 
"John, Mike and Saul:
Master Coach 
Giving Circle Blog, was named one of the Top 10 Women Real Estate Bloggers 2006 by 
Frances Flynn Thorsen, e-PRO, RECS, REALTOR, is the author of 
