Honors Western Union

W I R E SJuly/August 2009

Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP)

Honors Western Union

W H A T ’ S I N S I D E

A Western Union Foundat ion Publ icat ion1

Q2 GRANTS AWARDED 5PAGE

TEAMING UP 2PAGE

EMPLOYEE GIVING CIRCLE 6PAGE

Last month, Western Union earned the CECP Large Company Excellence Award for its demonstrated excellence of CEO leadership, innovation, measurement and partnership in corporate philanthropy.

CECP honored Western Union for pioneering Western Union’s Our World, Our Family® program, seen as one of the most effective programs to incorporate business development while elevating awareness of the complicated social issue of migration.

Founded by Paul Newman and Ken Derr, CECP is the only international forum of CEOs exclusively focused on corporate philanthropy. CECP’s mission is to lead the business community in raising the level and quality of corporate philanthropy. Engaging with the public, private and independent sectors, CECP’s members seek and create opportunities to help advance the case for philanthropy and to inspire other business leaders to make a lasting commitment to community giving.

Since 2000, CECP has presented Excellence Awards in Corporate Philanthropy annually to companies such as Cisco Systems, GlaxoSmithKline, GE, Hasbro, IBM, Moody’s Corporation, Novartis, Pfizer, The PNC Financial Services Group, salesforce.com, Target, Timberland and Whole Foods Market. The Excellence Awards winners are selected by an independent jury composed of experts from the corporate, government, media, nonprofit, consulting and academic communities.

Christina Gold, Western Union® President and CEO, accepted the award in honor of the Our World, Our Family program.

“Corporate citizenship is about shared value: it allows us to build the strength of our business

while strengthening communities. Western Union

stands for economic opportunity and we build on

that core commitment by promoting education and

entrepreneurship across our 385,000 Agent locations

in 200 countries and territories. It is a model that CECP

champions and we applaud them.”

Christina Gold President and CEO, Western Union

Qualifying applicants selected as finalists will submit a comprehensive business plan for evaluation and be connected with a full range of business tools and resources to help increase the number of enterprises that can be brought to life—regardless of whether they are selected for grant funding. In December 2009, ten to twenty qualifying entrepreneurs will be awarded grants of $50,000 to $100,000 each to support the execution of their business plans. These grants will be awarded from the initial ADM grant pool of nearly $1.5 million, financed jointly by USAID, the Western Union Company and the Western Union Foundation, as well as through Western Union Agent Giving Circles.

can Agents make a difference in Africa? Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) in Africa and Irv Barr Management in the U.S. formed a Giving Circle, contributing $250,000 to support the Africa Diaspora Marketplace!


A December 2008 Foundation grant of $25,000 to Opportunity International has provided micro loans to people like Beauty Zulu, helping them start and maintain their small businesses.

United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Western Union, the Western Union Foundation and Western Union® Agents

Alleviate Pover ty in AfricaT E A M I N G U P T O H E L P

The recently launched African Diaspora Marketplace (ADM) is a business-development

program and competition designed to support the entrepreneurial spirit and resources of the

U.S.-based African Diaspora community, with the goal of promoting sustainable economic

development in Sub-Saharan Africa. The initiative hopes to demonstrate the impact

that entrepreneurs from the world’s diaspora communities can have on development in their

home countries. The ADM will help boost job creation and economic opportunity in the region

by providing matching grants to African Diaspora members working in partnership with

African-based enterprises and/or entrepreneurs.

“Western Union supports migrants’ investment in their home countries and also helps to power the world economy through our business model. Through this program, we can leverage Western Union’s expertise on migration trends and our vast network and resources to help create lasting social and economic impact.”

Christina Gold, CEO, Western Union

For more information, go to www.diasporamarketplace.org.

$90,000 to the CONFEMEX scholarship program to provide college students, living in underserved communities, with $1,000 scholarships. CONFEMEX pledged an additional $45,000, bringing the total scholarship contribution to $135,000!

“Education is a key priority to CONFEMEX. With the support of the Foundation and Irv Barr Management, the grant will help invest in our community and its future while helping develop a new generation of leaders. We are grateful for the continued support from Western Union and the Foundation in our communities,

Since 2005, Western Union has been working with Mexican Hometown Associations (HTAs) through the 4+1 program, developing and helping fund projects and programs geared toward helping Mexican immigrants in the U.S., as well as their hometown communities in Mexico. The Confederation of Mexican Federations (CONFEMEX) is an immigrant led membership organization formed by nine Chicago-based HTAs.

Recently the Western Union Foundation and Irv Barr Management, through the Agent Giving Circle program, donated

especially for our students who strive each and every day to succeed in school.”

Arcadio Delgado President, CONFEMEX

can we help provide an education?

The yes! effect: Six inspiring individuals chosen to become Western Union® Ambassadors say yes! to education!

The voting has ended and six individuals

from across the globe have been chosen to

be Western Union yes! Ambassadors. Their

inspiring stories about how saying yes! has

helped make dreams come true has given

them the opportunity to say yes! once again

– by choosing one of three great educational

causes to receive a $10,000 donation from

the Western Union Foundation!

In total, $60,000 was donated to the following organizations as a result of the yes! effect: Academy for Educational Development For over 48 years, the Academy for Educational Development (AED) has worked at all levels of the educational system. Programs include improving teaching and learning, student achievement and access to education and educational opportunities, as well as increasing parent involvement and integrating technology into education strategies.

Mercy Corps Since 1979, Mercy Corps has provided $1.5 billion in assistance to people in 106 nations. Embracing a broad definition of education, programs include: teaching livestock breeders in Lebanon less costly ways to grow feed; building temporary classrooms in Darfur’s refugee camps; and constructing all-girls schools in the West Bank.

Room to Read® For more than eight years, Room to Read (RTR) has helped children in the developing world gain the lifelong gift of education. RTR partners with local communities to provide quality educational opportunities by establishing libraries, creating local language children’s literature, constructing schools and establishing computer labs.


CONFEMEX scholarship recipients.

can i bepersonallyrewarded inmy job?

Just ask Ricardo Amaral, Marketing Manager for

Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela, who in May

2009, joined the United Nations High Commissioner for

Refugees (UNHCR) on a site visit to Ecuador on behalf of

the Foundation. Ecuador is home to many refugees from

Colombia who left their home country due to violence

and threats from insurgent and paramilitary groups.

Ricardo visited a refugee documentation center in San

Lorenzo, a refugee shelter (temporary living for arriving

refugees) and an established Colombian community.

Speaking with families and individuals, he saw the program

in action and the need for further investment—in addition

to the positive impact of the UNHCR Ecuador program.

“If we can increase investment in this project, focusing

on education and programs like microlending and

entrepreneurship, we can generate a great impact on the

lives of these refugees,” said Ricardo. “On a personal

level, it was amazing to see firsthand how people can

keep up their hope and dignity in the face of so many

hardships. This mission helped me grow as a person,

changing my way of thinking.”


“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

— Margaret Mead, American Cultural Anthropologist (1901-1978)


can i hit a hole-in-one?

can my money make a difference?

Play golf for a great cause! Western Union’s Our World, Our Family® annual golf tournament will take place on Monday, October 5, 2009 at the Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock, Colorado. All proceeds raised by the tournament will benefit the Western Union Foundation, helping to fund programs that create economic opportunity around the world. Sponsorship opportunities are also available.

contact Judy Cara at 720-332-4764 or [email protected]. To register online,

go to: https://events.westernunion.com/WUFoundationGolf/2009/index.html.

FOR MORE INFO

More than $1.9 millionin worldwide grants awarded in Q2 2009!disaster Relief: $70,000Funding is helping support victims of the fires in Australia, floods in Fiji and displaced individuals and families in Pakistan.

direct Grants: $682,000Grants to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in 19 countries include funding to promote microfi-nance in North India, to assist Vietnamese migrants in Taiwan through language acquisition classes, and to provide business guidance to owners of small farms in Bangladesh.

agent giving circles: $1.16 millionAgent Giving Circle grants are helping fund a variety of educational programs, including vocational education for adolescents in Colombia, educational opportunities for ethnic minority students in the U.S. and the integration of immigrants in Belgium.

family Scholarships: $45,900Through the Family Scholarship program, a single mother in California will attend English classes while her daughter becomes the first in the family to attend college; two brothers from Kenya will pursue their dreams to promote sustainable development in rural Kenya, with one brother working toward a degree in New York and the other attending university in Njoro, Kenya; and two Filipina sisters will pursue university degrees, one in Korea and the other in Leyte, Philippines.


can a one-time volunteeropportunity turn intosomething even bigger?

Last October, as a Month of Giving activity, the

Montvale team volunteered to help build a community

playground at the Fairmont School. The project was

so rewarding that in June, the team decided to do it

once again, volunteering to build another playground

in Ellenville, N.Y.!

Western Union employees, led by Melissa Welch,

generously donated their day to Mi Casa in Denver on

July 21, 2009. The team of volunteers worked tirelessly

painting offices, cleaning areas around

the building, weeding,

landscaping and picking

up trash. “It was our

pleasure to give back to

the community,” said

Melissa. “It’s what

Western Union is all about!”

can one word,said enough,change the world?

EMPLOYEE GIVING

It’s almost time to say yes! to giving back to the communities where we live and work!

Beginning September 15, 2009 Help change the world by joining ourEmployee Giving Circle and donating money to transform the lives of the people who need it most.

Beginning October 1, 2009It’s the second annual Western Union Month of Giving, encouraging Western Union employees around the world to volunteer their time to help people in their very own communities.

Montvale employees build a playground!

Employees in Denver spend a day

volunteering at Mi Casa.

For any questions or storyideas, please contact Judy Cara at

[email protected]

can we be there when they need us?


12500 E. Belford Avenue M1I Englewood, CO 80112

Italy: In April 2009 a devastating earthquake

hit Italy’s Abruzzo region. The Western Union

Foundation, along with Agents Finint and Angelo

Costa, recently granted $367,000 to the Italian

Red Cross for reconstruction efforts, helping to

build six prefabricated homes for families in the

hard-hit Italian village of Onna.

Fiji: Fiji’s worst flooding in a generation claimed

lives, left thousands homeless and put many people

at risk for disease. The Foundation donated $10,000

through the International Federation of Red Cross and

Red Crescent Societies to help with relief efforts.

Australia: As fires swept through the state of

Victoria, many people were killed or injured and

many more were displaced. A Foundation grant of

$10,000 was made to the American Red Cross to

help with relief efforts.

Pakistan: Fighting between the Pakistan Army

and militants has displaced more than 2.5 million

people in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. A Foundation grant

of $50,000 to Mercy Corps is helping deliver aid to

thousands of families affected by the violence.

NEW Foundation Board Treasurer The Western Union Foundation welcomes Scott Coad, SVP Finance to the Board of Directors. Scott will be serving as Treasurer for the Foundation.

“From a practical standpoint, my skills will be helpful on the financial side. Personally, I am pleased to be able to provide my support to give back to our consumers and their families worldwide. Work-ing with the Foundation really gives visibility to the needs of our consumers. I am deeply proud of the global response of Western Union, the Foun-dation, our employees and Agents to help provide a better future for the people who need it most.”

Scott Coad, SVP FinanceTreasurer, Western Union Foundation

Board of Directors

ANNOUNCING

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Honors Western Union