A simple click on a Facebook page can mean a better life for people in Africa.

General Mills is expanding its Join My Village program that promotes education and economic development in Malawi, and people worldwide can easily help.

Those who visit the Join My Village Facebook page can instantly activate a $1 contribution from General Mills by clicking “like” at the top of the page.

Not only has General Mills launched a Facebook page, but it has expanded membership worldwide. Last year, only those in the U.S. could get involved.

Partnering with the humanitarian organization CARE, General Mills launched the program last year with the intent of releasing up to $500,000 in funding to help empower African women and girls – those who grow and prepare most of the food in Malawi. Some of that money had to be “unlocked” by U.S. residents through the Join My Village website, which is currently being revised.   More than 6,500 members were recruited through JoinMyVillage.com last year, and the initial goal of $500,000 was exceeded.   Funding will soon top $1 million The 2010 effort aims to have people worldwide activate $500,000 in General Mills donations, which will come on top of the $250,000 that Geneal Mills has already granted for Year Two. When coupled with last year’s donations, the funding will bring Join My Village donations to well beyond $1 million.   Activating just a $1 donation is significant because dollars add up quickly in Malawi:

• For $25, a village’s savings and loan group can buy a lockbox for their hard-earned contributions.
• For $100, a woman can be trained in the village's savings and loan program, which helps her onto a path of financial empowerment.
• For $341, a girl can pay tuition plus room and board for an entire year of secondary school. 

Jeff Peterson, director of innovation and strategy for the General Mills Foundation, says that last year funds helped to support 160 scholarships plus curriculum for 15 schools, built eight fully-loaded “teachers homes” that met ministry of education specifications, and helped more than 1,000 women who were interested in starting their own businesses.

Release of funds through the Facebook site for each “like” will occur through the end of November. But that won't be the end of the donations.   Beth Keunstler, the Join My Village program director at CARE, says individuals also can donate funds that are matched dollar-for-dollar by General Mills when the new JoinMyVillage.com website launches in November.

Inside General Mills