Western Union & the Western Union Foundation Provide Humanitarian Relief to Yemen

Giving By Emily Larson Jun 13, 2017

Sana’a, Yemen – June 13, 2017 – The Western Union Company and the Western Union Foundation today announced a coordinated response involving the company’s employees, its agents and global non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to provide humanitarian relief to millions of people in Yemen.

The Western Union Foundation has committed USD$ 100,000 to the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) to support their work to provide urgently needed food, prevent the risk of cholera and help those who are already affected.

The Foundation will also provide a dollar-for-dollar match of qualifying contributions from Western Union agents to qualified NGOs providing disaster relief support to those impacted by the crisis. Western Union employee donations to the Foundation will be eligible for a 2:1 match. Agent and employee donations will be matched, up to an aggregate total of USD$ 25,000. In total, contributions from the Foundation through this comprehensive effort could reach up to USD$ 125,000 in total aid.

“We are committed to helping the communities we serve, including enhancing our support in Yemen, to combat the fragile situation facing the country during this devastating crisis,” said Elizabeth Roscoe, executive director, Western Union Foundation.

From now until July 13, 2017, Western Union will reimburse* fees** paid by NGOs for money transfers to Yemen made from participating Western Union agent locations worldwide, wu.com and the company’s mobile applications.
Due to the unstable situation in Yemen, some Western Union agent locations there may not be immediately operational or possess sufficient funds.

* Western Union NGO customers sending money to Yemen will need to pay standard fees at the time of the transaction(s).  Within 30 days of the transaction(s), Western Union will manually reimburse NGOs that sent money to Yemen between June 9, 2017 and July 9, 2017.  For questions about the reimbursement process or for information on how to become a Western Union NGO customer, please email NGOSolutions@westernunion.com.

** Western Union makes money on the exchange of currencies.