The Western Union Foundation Worldwide charitable giving
Western Union Foundation President, Luella Chavez D'Angelo, provides insight on Western Union’s Our World, Our Family® signature program in the following interview.
What is your role within the Western Union Foundation?
I am the President of the Western Union Foundation and I am honored to lead corporate responsibility and citizenship efforts on behalf of both the corporation and the Foundation. Other areas that I manage include overseeing our global grants-making program that serves hundreds of non-profit organizations worldwide, employee engagement and volunteerism programs, the Agent Giving Circle program and vendor solicitations.
What is the goal of the Foundation?
The Western Union Foundation is the charitable giving arm for the Corporation. Through the donations of The Western Union Company, its employees and Agents, the Western Union Foundation helps to fund programs that create economic opportunity around the world. Embracing the truly global nature of its corporate sponsor, since its inception in 2000 the Western Union Foundation has granted almost $53 million to more than 1,800 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in 100 countries.
What is the purpose and meaning of Western Union's Our World, Our Family® program?
Western Union's Our World, Our Family® program is a five year, $50 million commitment to facilitating global economic opportunity and helping migrants and their families stay connected, overcome barriers and realize their dreams. The Our World, Our Family® program features four major components designed to empower migrants on their journey toward a better life: Our World Gives, Our World Learns, Our World Strives and Our World Speaks. The program was piloted in four locations: Guatemala, United Arab Emirates, the Philippines and the United States and is now being proliferated globally. As part of this effort, Western Union has forged a partnership with Mercy Corps, the company's first global non-governmental organization (NGO) partner.
What do you personally say yes! to?
I say yes to making a difference in someone's life. I say yes to lifting up the underserved, educating and mentoring our consumers and using Western Union's voice for creating positive change for others.