|
Western Union of Englewood, Colorado, received a Stevie Award for Best Corporate Social Responsibility Program in South America in The 2008 International Business Awards. Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Western Union, Anne McCarthy is a member of the Board of Judges for the 2009 IBAs.
 A leader in global money transfer services, Western Union connects communities around the world through its network of more than 379,000 Agent locations in 200 countries. In 2006, when Western Union prepared to spin-off from its parent company to once again become independent and publicly traded, it undertook an in-depth examination of its community commitment. The company aimed to focus its giving for greater social impact around one social issue that more effectively addressed the needs of its consumer base. In 2007, Western Union introduced its Our World, Our Family® program as an expression of this commitment to both corporate citizenship and its core consumers.
The Goal: To Make Poverty History
In 2007 alone, 200 million migrants worldwide sent home an estimated $369 billion in remittances, which is more than double the official aid received by developing countries. Western Union is harnessing the power of remittances to support the communities it serves and to alleviate the cycle of poverty.
Western Union’s Our World, Our Family program is facilitating economic opportunity worldwide for migrants and their families, addressing the root causes of poverty, which too often make migration a necessity rather than a choice. In total, the Western Union Foundation has granted $53 million to more than 1,800 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in 100 countries.
To develop the program, Western Union engaged dozens of issue experts, researched potential NGO partners, and forged an in-depth partnership with Mercy Corps, an NGO that since 1979 has provided more than $1 billion in assistance to developing countries. With its partners, Western Union is working to empower families around the world, providing them with needed tools and resources to comprehensively address their specific economic needs.
Our World, Our Family engages key stakeholders through four program elements:
1) Our World Learns connects new migrant families with vital local resources, boosting language skills, job readiness, and civic engagement. As part of Our World Learns, Western Union pioneered and awarded its first family scholarships, enabling multiple family members to pursue any level of education. With Mercy Corps, the company created multilingual Learning Packs to provide new migrants with vital community orientation.
2) Our World Strives helps more established migrants and families in the communities they leave behind reach the next level through entrepreneurship and micro-enterprise support. To sustain this program element, the company launched a volunteer mentor program, matching migrant entrepreneurs with Western Union employees, and sponsored a bilingual online small business clearinghouse for migrants.
3) Our World Gives supports otherwise overlooked communities by promoting innovative joint philanthropy with migrants, employees, and others. The company introduced Global Giving Circles, and a new infrastructure for diaspora philanthropy. Migrants are encouraged to raise funds for the communities they left behind with a 1:1 match from Western Union and government agencies.
4) Our World Speaks provides a global voice for migrants, rallying global influencers around issue advocacy efforts. Western Union forged strategic alliances with global leaders, served as a high-level convener, and sponsored landmark global migration research with the Economist Intelligence Unit to address the migration data gap for more informed decision-making on issues surrounding migration
Donating Time and Talent
To broaden the impact of this initiative, Western Union has engaged its Agents and employees to donate their time and talent in a variety of ways:
- Through Global Giving Circles, employees can pool funds for greater social impact with up to a 3:1 match from the corporation. In 2008, 33% of all Western Union employees across the globe participated, generating over $1.2 million with the corporate match.
- Western Union worked with Mercy Corps to develop a Volunteer Mentor Corps, a program that leverages employees’ business savvy and connects employees and Agents as mentors with entrepreneurs in local communities.
- To support employee volunteerism Western Union has introduced new tools and resources, including a new Donations for Doers Program, VolunteerMatch, and a Global Day of Service.
Success To-date
Since Western Union launched Our World, Our Family in September 2007, the program has touched 375,000 lives worldwide, had record employee engagement, forged a multi-year partnership with a global NGO, distributed 110,000 Learning Packs globally, and created 4,268 jobs from collective fundraising. And that’s just in the first two years.
About Anne McCarthy
As executive vice president of Corporate Affairs for Western Union, Anne McCarthy oversees global media relations, employee communications, reputation management, public affairs, community relations, and the Western Union Foundation. McCarthy is based in Englewood, Colorado, at the Western Union global headquarters.
McCarthy joined Western Union in 2007 after working for four years as the senior vice president of Global Communications for SAP A.G., where she led communications activities for the Customer Solutions and Operations division. In addition, McCarthy has worked in senior-level positions throughout the world at E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Polaroid Corporation, IBM Corporation, Sara Lee Corporation, and Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. She currently serves on the board of trustees for Alliance for Choice in Education, Colorado UpLift, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, and the Arthur W. Page Society. Additionally, McCarthy is an ambassador for MercyCorps, a Trustee of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and is a member of the Wise Women Council.
McCarthy earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from Michigan State University and has completed executive education programs at The Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania, and at INSEAD at Fontainebleau.
About Western Union
The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a leader in global money transfer services. Together with its Vigo and Orlandi Valuta branded money-transfer services, Western Union provides consumers with fast, reliable, and convenient ways to send and receive money around the world, as well as to send payments and purchase money orders. It operates through a combined network of more than 379,000 Agent locations in 200 countries and territories. Famous for its pioneering telegraph services, the original Western Union dates back to 1851. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.
About The Western Union Foundation
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 NGOs in 100 countries. Its signature giving program, Western Union's Our World, Our Family®, is a $50 million, five-year commitment reaching people at every rung of the economic ladder. Through Our World, Our Family, the Western Union Foundation is helping migrants and their families stay connected, overcome barriers, and realize their dreams. For more information, visit http://foundation.westernunion.com. |
What book are you currently reading?
by Seth Godin. Learn how to lead a movement!
