Puerto Princesa City, PHILIPPINES – Roots of Health, a nonprofit organization working to improve the health of women and girls and their communities, will be featured on Catapult, the first online funding platform dedicated to advancing the lives of girls and women worldwide. Catapult will launch today, on International Day of the Girl. In addition to being part of the site as it launches, Roots of Health’s work is being highlighted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Family Health Division Director.

Created by the global advocacy organization, Women Deliver, Catapult is a digital hub driving donations to organizations working to improve the lives of girls and women because investing in girls and women strengthens families, communities and nations. “Catapult is a connector,” said Founder, Maz Kessler. “It’s a tool for people to take direct, effective action to create change. Catapult unites online supporters with trusted organizations to help fuel the movement to end inequality for girls and women.”

Organizations, like Roots of Health, upload their projects to Catapult, and donors can search for and fund the issues that speak to them most. To ensure transparency, each Catapult project includes a breakdown of how donations will be applied. Project budgets, including administrative costs, GPS coordinates, and video are all standard features of the platform. Catapult is free for all parties.

Interested Donors can also learn about projects from Curators, who are leaders in the advancement of women and girls. Curator Gary Darmshadt, the director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Family Health Division, will be featuring Roots of Health’s project titled “Flat bellies and planned pregnancies,” on his curator page. “Flat bellies and planned pregnancies” is a project that describes Roots of Health’s work providing family planning services and education in underserved communities in Palawan. Darmshadt will show his support for Roots of Health by promoting the project and sharing it with his network.

Founded in 2009, Roots of Health works with impoverished families in and around Puerto Princesa City on the island of Palawan. The organization provides women and girls with reproductive health education, contraception, and support for healthy pregnancies. Additionally, they provide nutritional support and high school and college reproductive health education.

In addition to “Flat bellies and planned pregnancies”, Roots of Health will feature 5 more projects including “Clinics when it counts”, “Gardening for health”, Keep girls in school, “It all starts with mom”, and “Training community health advocates.”

To learn more about Catapult and how you can help make a change for girls and women visit www.catapult.org.
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For more information on Roots of Health, please visit rootsofhealth.org, on Facebook and on Twitter