FINCA International, a charitable micro-finance organization, is launching a new video public service announcement campaign for FINCA’s online donation community, Lend A Hand, which features spokeswomen Academy Award winner Natalie Portman, and leading Hollywood actress Zoe Saldana.
The PSA campaign is in support of women, worldwide, who are working to create a better future for their families. The PSA videos go live June 10.
“We’re excited to begin a new PSA Campaign aimed at galvanizing the public’s support for FINCA’s efforts to provide hardworking, impoverished women around the globe with the financial tools they need to start and build small businesses that can help move their families out of extreme poverty,” said FINCA President and CEO Rupert Scofield. “As our Ambassador of Hope, Natalie has worked tirelessly throughout the years on our behalf to engage others in our mission, and we’re thrilled that Zoe is joining her as another dedicated advocate for our cause.”
Lend A Hand is a virtual community managed by FINCA that invites the public to sponsor life-changing, small loans for low-income entrepreneurs struggling to escape poverty. Donations through Lend A Hand allow FINCA to provide small loans to FINCA borrowers, mostly women, looking to receive a hand up, not a handout. These borrowers invest their loans into their businesses so they can increase profitability, and improve their families’ living standards and future prospects. This added income makes it possible for borrowers to buy better food for their children, make improvements to their homes and, most important, pay fees for children to attend school, ensuring a better chance for a life free from poverty. Additional loans keep these small businesses going and growing, and often create jobs for other family members and neighbors. Sponsorship of a Lend A Hand borrower replenishes FINCA’s pool of loan capital, enabling its programs in 21 countries across the globe to continue providing additional loans to others in need.
“I’m so proud to serve with FINCA in helping impoverished women become self-sustaining,” said Ambassador of Hope, Natalie Portman. “There is no better gift than giving women living in poverty the ability to provide for themselves and their families. When people donate to FINCA’s Lend A Hand campaign, they are allowing a mother to have peace of mind that her children are fed, safe, and being given a chance at a better life.”
“There are so many women in the world who are less fortunate, and struggling to provide for their families,” said Zoe Saldana. “FINCA is working tirelessly to help give these women a hand up, so that they are able to take care of their families and break free of poverty. Through this campaign, we hope to educate people about Lend A Hand, and show how a small loan can change the lives of so many women living in poverty—and better the lives of their children.”
As the organization’s Ambassador of Hope, Natalie Portman has demonstrated a passion and commitment to FINCA’s mission for nearly a decade, devoting her efforts toward mobilizing the next generation in the fight against poverty. Her involvement has led her to visit multiple countries around the globe where she has witnessed, first hand, the positive effects of microfinance. Inspired by Portman’s extraordinary commitment to the organization’s efforts, Zoe Saldana joined the Lend A Hand campaign after observing the tragic destruction following the massive Haiti earthquake in 2010.
To watch Natalie’s video, click here. Zoe’s video can be viewed here.
