The Western Union Company and the Western Union Foundation Invest to Train 50,000 Women and Youth
The Western Union Foundation Announces Six NGO Partners to Support
Efforts and Continue Next Phase of the Education for Better Campaign
ENGLEWOOD, Colo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Western Union Company and the Western Union Foundation today
announced the official kick-off of the next phase of its Education
for Better program, committing to
invest US$1M to train 50,000 women and youth across the Americas, Europe
Union, Africa and Asia over the next five years.
The financial commitment fulfills a pledge made in September 2012 during
the launch of the United Nations Education First initiative. The program
will leverage Western Union® and Western Union Foundation
services, advocacy, cause marketing, philanthropic investments and
employee engagement to support education programs worldwide.
“We are proud to continue the Education for Better campaign,
leveraging the strength of The Western Union Company’s global network,
the Western Union Foundation and its NGO partners, to provide meaningful
educational opportunities and positive social impact throughout many of
the communities Western Union serves,” said John Dye, Board Chairman,
Western Union Foundation.
Following a week that celebrated women globally during International
Women’s Day, the Western Union Foundation named six global
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to help meet program goals across
the world:
-
SOS
Children’s Villages (Africa)
will receive funding to support vocational and life skills training
for orphaned and abandoned youth, especially young women, in the DRC,
Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa (video). -
Save
the Children (Asia) has
developed the ‘Skills to Succeed’ program, providing at-risk youth
with vocational and technical training, financial literacy, and
entrepreneurship training. The Western Union Foundation will focus its
funding in China, India, and the Philippines. -
Teach
For All (Europe). Through
Teach for All partners in Austria, France, Germany, Lithuania, and the
UK, the Foundation will help address youth education inequities that
contribute to worldwide challenges such as high unemployment and weak
economic development. -
Education
For Employment (EFE Middle East).
With a focus in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, the Foundation
will support EFE Middle East’s efforts to empower youth, especially
young women and girls, to build careers that create a better future
for themselves and their communities. -
Junior
Achievement Americas (JA –
Americas/Caribbean) inspires and prepares young people to
succeed in a global economy. With Foundation support in Argentina,
Brazil, Costa Rica, Jamaica, and Mexico, JA Americas will support
training that lead to career readiness, with a particular focus on
Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) education. -
National
Academy Foundation (NAF – United
States) will receive support for its career academies that
are focused learning communities within public high schools and serve
at-risk students in the U.S. with a STEM-infused curriculum developed
in partnership with local industry. These career academies enable
students to be career/college ready. With Western Union Foundation
funding, NAF will focus on increasing enrollment and retention of
female students in STEM studies.
Just last week, Western Union recognized women in the work force as
agents of economic change. The company also saluted developed and
emerging economies for paving the way for these women to cross borders
and called for greater recognition and integration as women emerge as
powerful drivers of economies.
Women account for nearly 50 percent of the 247 million migrants around
the world and are set to move half of the estimated US $610 billion that
will cross borders in 2016.1 More than 75 percent of these
remittances flow into developing countries, underpinning a powerful
economic dialogue between families from one side of the globe to the
other.
The Solutions for Youth Employment Coalition (S4YE) states one third of
the world’s 1.8 billion young people are currently neither in
employment, education or training – most of them women. Of the one
billion more youth that will enter the job market in the next decade,
only 40 percent are expected to be able to get jobs that currently
exist. The global economy will need to create 600 million jobs over the
next 10 years – five million jobs each month – simply to keep pace with
projected youth employment rates.2
To date, the Western Union Foundation has pledged more than 76 percent
of the US$104 million committed to advance education and economic
development.
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 December 31, 2015, 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 over one billion 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.
WU-G / WU-F
1 WORLD BANK MIGRATION AND REMITTANCES FACTBOOK 2016 /
MIGRATION DEVELOPMENT BRIEF
2 2015 Toward Solutions for
Youth Employment, S4YE
Contacts
Western Union Media Contact:
Brad Jones, +1-720-332-1262
Bradley.Jones@westernunion.com
