Haiti Karen Anderson helped found Plymouth-based nonprofit, Helping Haiti Work, to provide small business loans to women in northern Haiti. Every year, Karen, who is a graphic designer, has created greeting cards that help support the organization and directly fund these micro-loans. This organization is working to end the cycle of poverty in Haiti, and equip women to run their own business. Women Helping Haiti Work has also equipped two sewing centers, employing Haitian women to construct reusable menstrual pads and diapers, which are then marketed to the Haitian public. And by making sanitary, reusable pads available, girls are encouraged to attend school regularly, even when reaching puberty.

Karen "God has given me a real joy in Helping Haiti Work! I pitched in several years ago to help my friend and doctor, Leslee Jaeger, with an idea after her annual medical mission in northern Haiti. Reading how microfinancing women’s businesses can help break a cycle of poverty, we started Helping Haiti Work. It is exciting to be part of this nonprofit from the ground up and to use my graphic art skills for its marketing and fundraising, providing almost 250 small business loans for women in Haiti and equipping two sewing centers. Though I am not one to go into the field, I am able to use the talents I have to make a difference in the lives of some underprivileged families. It is humbling to know how hard our loan recipients work with their $200, and how determined they are to pay back their loans in order to provide for those still on the waiting list.