Especially during the COVID-19 crisis, the Western Union Foundation knows the importance of helping our hometown: Denver, Colorado. To engage Western Union employees during these trying times, we launched “WU Votes,” a program for Denver’s 1,100 Western Union employees to vote for a local nonprofit serving vulnerable populations to be awarded $25,000 grant from the Western Union Foundation. As a Foundation, we could not be as effective without the generous financial support and input of our Western Union employees, and we now rely on them more than ever. The votes have been tallied and Denver employees selected the Family Tree, which helps people overcome child abuse, domestic violence and homelessness to become safe, stable and self-reliant.
Beverly, a Western Union employee, nominated Family Tree to be part of the WU Votes program and said, “The reason I nominated The Family Tree is their support to the most vulnerable in our community and their need to continue this support during the COVID-19 pandemic. This support is very important during this time of self-quarantine and social distancing for a demographic that already suffers from abuse on a daily basis. It’s now more important than ever to have a safe place, this is what Family Tree provides!”
One employee shared, “I have a deep passion for those facing homelessness, domestic violence and or child abuse. All of them are so interconnected and so difficult to overcome. I voted because this is a cause I am so passionate about. Thank you for always supporting the community and always allowing WU employees to lend a hand.”
Family Tree will use the gift to acquire technology and supplies needed to continue to provide direct services and other essential support to those who are particularly impacted and vulnerable. Funds will aid program costs needed for technology, meals and sanitation supplies.
“On behalf of Family Tree, we are honored and grateful to be selected by the Denver Western Union employees to receive the $25,000 WU Votes grant – thank you!” said Scott Shields, Family Tree CEO. “This unprecedented time has been met by the innovation and resiliency of Family Tree’s passionate and dedicated team members as they serve people experiencing child abuse and neglect, domestic violence and homelessness in new and impactful ways. This generous award is recognition and validation of their hard work and sacrifice to help make our community a better place for everyone.”
The Western Union Foundation launched the WU Votes program in 2019 in Pune, India; Santa Ana, Costa Rica and Paris, where more than 800 employees voted for their favorite local nonprofits to win a grant from the Foundation. For example, Costa Rica employees selected Fundación Génesis, an organization that provides comprehensive and personalized assistance to people at high social risk, to facilitate the improvement of their quality of life and economic capacity.
The Western Union Foundation supports forcibly displaced people around the world to get the workforce skills training they need to thrive in the global economy. Now more than ever, as we all fight the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important for us to help people in need. You can learn more about how the Foundation is supporting COVID-19 relief efforts globally here. Follow the WU Foundation on twitter here.
