ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU), through its corporate signature program Our World, Our Family®, and The Western Union Foundation is distributing a new grant totaling $500,000 to Mercy Corps to provide training and funding for up to 1,000 small businesses in Haiti, helping approximately 10,000 families.
The Western Union Foundation grant will be designated to support one-to-one matching of consumer donations to Mercy Corps, through Zafen.org, for a total fund-raising goal of $1 million. Zafen.org is a non-profit organization affiliated with Mercy Corps and Haitian Hometown Association Resource Groups in the United States. The Western Union Foundation match is available for contributions made online through MercyCorps.org and qualifying projects on Zafen.org, or at participating Western Union Agent locations in the United States. The fundraising component of the program will be active from October 18 through December 31, 2010.
According to Mercy Corps, 70 percent of Haitians are age 30 or younger, and the need for job creation is especially critical for youth in Haiti. In this context, Mercy Corps will foster apprenticeships and skills transfer as part of their work with selected micro, small and medium enterprises.
Stewart A. Stockdale, President, The Americas and EVP, Global Cards and Global Key Accounts, Western Union said, “We believe supporting small businesses is one of the best ways to make a sustainable impact in Haiti, and it is one of the areas we know best – it taps into our unique expertise as a financial services company.”
Phil Oldham, Mercy Corps’s Regional Program Director, added, “The people of Haiti are remarkably entrepreneurial and are hungry for new job opportunities. Western Union’s grant supports Mercy Corps’s strategy to help Haitians develop their entrepreneurial talents into the successful enterprises that will drive their country’s long-term economic recovery.”
Western Union’s Haiti Disaster Relief Response to Date:
Immediately following the devastating January 13, 2010 earthquake, a number of disaster relief efforts in support of Haiti were activated including: Western Union Foundation grants; the Western Union Agent and Employee Giving Circles; and a “No Transfer Fee” initiative for money transfers sent to Haiti from the United States, Canada, France, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, in cooperation with Western Union Agents.
To date, Western Union has contributed approximately $1.9 million in direct grants in support of Haiti through Western Union partner NGOs:
* American Red Cross: $1,170,813
* Save the Children: $158,208
* Mercy Corps: $50,000
* Belize Red Cross: $22,722
* Mercy Corps: $500,000 (announced today)
The Western Union Foundation has earmarked another $500,000 for programs yet to be announced, for a grand total of approximately $2.4 million.
“Our goal, through this grant, is to create a climate for economic empowerment,” said Luella Chavez D’Angelo, President, The Western Union Foundation. “For instance, in Carradeux, one of the camp sites supported by Mercy Corps, commerce is starting to flourish, with cash-for-work programs, and residents starting small businesses selling food and every day necessities.”
The Western Union Company and its services play a critical role in the lives of consumers affected by the disaster. Remittances are an integral part of the Haitian economy and will continue to help Haitians as the country rebuilds. Part of the Western Union network was operational within 48 hours after the January earthquake and continues to be a market leader with more than 400 Agent locations. The company remains committed to working with its Agents and consumers in Haiti.
