On April 20, the world celebrates Volunteer Recognition Day. This day recognizes all volunteers worldwide who contribute their time, money, energy, and ideas to help improve society without expecting anything in return.
At Western Union, we actively support and encourage volunteering, solidarity, and commitment to sustainability among our employees, and as a company, we thrive on giving back. We understand we are part of a bigger picture in making the world a better place, and volunteering is a vital element of the social activities we try to embody.
To bring employees closer to the communities we serve and the environment, we promote corporate volunteering initiatives in various ways. Each year, every employee is given one paid personal day for philanthropy. Additionally, we promote volunteering days as team-building activities. Employees can use their unique skills to get involved in social action and be a force for good in the world we all share.
In 2020, 64% of Western Union employees engaged with the Western Union Foundation and support its mission through charitable giving and volunteering.
Our global “Empower” teams consist of employees who give their time to help engage our international teams and strengthen our work culture. Site business leaders support them to focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, “culture of the customer”, community, and the environment.
One example of an empowerment team in action is last December’s Project Mingle Jingle. Thanks to a new partnership between the Western Union Black Advisory Council, the Urban Leadership Foundation of Colorado (ULFC), and the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, our employees volunteered to bundle donations and wrap gifts to be delivered to more than 75 families in need across the Denver Metro area, Western Union’s headquarters.
Other volunteering activities we support and encourage across our centers include delivering workshops, beach cleanups, and assisting charity events.
The Western Union Foundation manages more long-term volunteering activities. For 20 years, its focus remains on helping change lives for the better. The foundation continues to deliver against that mission with Opportunity Beyond Borders – empowering forcibly displaced and marginalized youth with the training and education needed to succeed in today’s technology-driven global economy.
Through the foundation, employees donate their talents, mostly virtually, to organizations in their communities. One global effort enabled employees to write virtual letters to COVID-19 healthcare heroes and individuals isolated by COVID-19. Employees in the United States volunteered their expertise as mentors for young adults in the Watson Institute’s Basecamp program, among other activities from employees worldwide.
The world has changed profoundly in the past year, and as a result, community needs are becoming more acute. Through volunteerism, we are helping communities, and that is the best way to build a brighter future and better life for all.
As you consider your future career aspirations, consider joining an organization that genuinely cares about giving back. #JoinWU and help us connect the world. #YOUandWU
