Western Union Advances Commitment to Global Refugee Crisis Launching Company-wide Global Initiative Supporting Economic Oppor...
September 20 2016 - 6:00AM
Business Wire
Western Union CEO attends White House
Call-to-Action Meeting for Private Sector Engagement
As a founding partner of the White House Call-to-Action for
private sector engagement on the global refugee crisis, the Western
Union Company (NYSE: WU), a leader in global payment services,
today announced expanded participation.
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Fact Sheet: Western Union and the Western
Union Foundation, Standing With Refugees (September 20, 2016)
(Graphic: Business Wire)
The Western Union Foundation has pledged a three-year grant
support totaling USD$ 750,000 to the Whitaker Peace &
Development Initiative (WPDI) that will help provide access to
education for 10,000 refugees in Uganda.
During a White House Call-to-Action meeting today in New York,
Western Union CEO, Hikmet Ersek reaffirmed exploring the
opportunity to use Western Union’s cross-border platform,
marketplace voice, charitable giving and talent to help refugees
participate more directly in the global economy. Western Union’s
support will extend to include education, employment and enablement
initiatives.
“The need for assistance is great, and a crisis of this scale
requires action on many fronts,” said Ersek. “Supporting the people
in the communities that we serve through education and economic
opportunity is in the DNA of Western Union and can provide new ways
toward a better future.”
Western Union’s White House Call-to-Action program includes
looking at ways to expand access to education for refugee children
and young adults, leveraging Western Union’s products and services
to implement refugee crisis response initiatives, and proactively
striving to make job opportunities available to refugees via
traditional employment and shorter-term assignments, such as
internships and freelance opportunities, with Western Union and
teaming up with key corporate partners. The Western Union
Foundation’s three-year commitment to WPDI, the non-governmental
organization created by Forest Whitaker, represents the first step
in this multi-year effort.
WPDI’s successful approach to training refugees focuses on life
skills, vocational training and entrepreneurship. This will serve
as a blueprint to implement a new program in a camp in Kiryandongo,
Uganda where the UNHCR reports that approximately 70,000 refugees
and asylum seekers from Kenya, Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and South
Sudan reside, 85% of whom are under 18. Uganda hosts the
eighth-largest refugee population in the world, third-largest in
Africa.
“After meeting Hikmet at the United Nations World Humanitarian
Summit this year, it became clear that partnering with the Western
Union Foundation was a natural fit and alignment with our passion
and purpose for strengthening communities,” said WPDI Founder and
CEO, Forest Whitaker. “Connecting to people, empowering them with
the tools they need to succeed, and teaching them to give back to
others is a very powerful thing.”
About Western Union
The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a leader in global
payment services. Together with its Vigo, Orlandi Valuta, Pago
Facil and Western Union Business Solutions branded payment
services, Western Union provides consumers and businesses with
fast, reliable and convenient ways to send and receive money around
the world, to send payments and to purchase money orders. As of
June 30, 2016, the Western Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta branded
services were offered through a combined network of over 500,000
agent locations in 200 countries and territories and over 100,000
ATMs and kiosks, and included the capability to send money to
billions of accounts. In 2015, The Western Union Company completed
262 million consumer-to-consumer transactions worldwide, moving $82
billion of principal between consumers, and 508 million business
payments. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.
About The Western Union Foundation
The Western Union Foundation is dedicated to creating a better
world, where the ability to realize dreams through economic
opportunity is not just a privilege for the few but a right for
all. Through its signature program, Education for Better, and with
the support of The Western Union Company, its employees, Agents,
and business partners, The Western Union Foundation works to
realize this vision by supporting education and disaster relief
efforts as pathways toward a better future. Our combined social
ventures efforts make life better for individuals, families and
communities around the world. Since its inception, The Western
Union Foundation has paid more than $106 million in grants and
other giving. These funds have been pledged to more than 2,794
nongovernmental organizations in more than 137 countries and
territories. The Western Union Foundation, is a separate §501(c)(3)
recognized United States charity. To learn more, visit
www.westernunionfoundation.org, or Follow us on Twitter
@TheWUFoundation.
About the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative
WPDI is a non-governmental organization with an international
scope and reach, founded by Forest Whitaker in 2012. WPDI develops
an array of peacebuilding programs, initiatives and campaigns to
foster peace and reconciliation in disadvantaged and fragile
communities in Africa, Latin America, and the United States. Our
mission is to help societies impacted by destructive conflicts
transform into safer and more-prosperous communities. Visit us
online at www.wpdi.org and follow us on Twitter (@connectWPDI),
Facebook, and Instagram (whitaker_peace).
WU-G
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Western UnionRachel Rogala, +1 720-332-2686Global Corporate
CommunicationsRachel.rogala@westernunion.com
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