Western Union Foundation Awards 70 Scholarships to International and Immigrant Students for the 2024-2025 School Year

Media contacts:
Western Union Foundation: Robyn Burns, robyn.burns@wu.com
Western Union: Bradley Jones, bradley.jones@wu.com

The Western Union Foundation is proud to announce this year’s cohort of 70 scholarship award winners, consisting of international and immigrant students representing 33 countries of origin, studying in 8 countries, and spanning 32 different universities.

The Western Union Foundation has supported international students with “Global Scholarships” since 2016 and has granted more than 600 scholarships to date. It is a program that is especially meaningful to Western Union, as well as its employees, partners and agents that contribute to help students who, like many of Western Union’s customers, have crossed borders in pursuit of more opportunities.

“It’s incredibly heartwarming to see the generosity and passion of everyone who supported the Western Union Foundation scholarship program this year,” shared Ben Adams, Chief Legal Officer for Western Union and Board Chair of the Western Union Foundation. “These donations have the power to change the lives of hardworking, high-potential students who are struggling to afford to graduate.”

International students often have unique challenges while pursuing higher education. From expensive tuition and limitations on how many hours they can work, to living in a new country where they need to adjust to a different culture, community, and language – there are many barriers international students must overcome to succeed.

“We are proud to support the academic pursuits of students who have so much potential - yet often struggle with the costs associated with higher education,” shared Lauren Bell, Executive Director of the Western Union Foundation. “We have seen the impact these scholarships make by reducing financial burdens, which in turn allows students to thrive and get the most out of their collegiate experience.”

One of the exemplary students supported this year is Sasha, a second-year scholarship recipient who is studying business, art and psychology at Allegheny College. Sasha is originally from Ukraine where her family has been impacted by the war. Despite the challenges of being separated from her family during this stressful time, Sasha has retained a strong GPA and dedicated herself to creating a gamified therapy app to support forcibly displaced refugees from Ukraine. “The primary reason I was able to launch this app was because I was awarded the scholarship from the Western Union Foundation which allowed me to focus on the app instead of worrying about how to afford tuition,” Sasha shared.

The Western Union Foundation’s scholarships are administered across two different programs:

• Western Union Foundation Global Scholars Program, in partnership with the Institute of International Education. This program supports international students from low-income communities who are pursuing their education in some of the world's top academic destinations, including Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom. The Foundation is proud to provide 42 global scholarships this year, including two that were funded by Western Union employee’s generous donations.
• Immigrant Scholarship Program, in partnership with Metropolitan State University of Denver. Through this program the Foundation is proud to support 28 immigrant students in metro Denver as they move from their home countries and learn how to adapt and thrive in their new community. The students are further supported by the University’s Immigrant Services Program, an academic and social support program that aims to increase enrollment, retention, and graduation of undocumented, DACA, immigrant, and refugee students.

About the Western Union Foundation

The Western Union Foundation’s mission is to be a catalyst for economic opportunity for people who migrate in pursuit of a more prosperous future. With more than two decades of impact, the Foundation continues to deliver on their mission with Prosperity Beyond Borders, a multi-year commitment to drive $500 million in aggregate wage gains for disadvantaged, high-potential people who lack access to economic mobility. The Western Union Foundation is a separate, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charitable corporation and receives support from The Western Union Company, its employees, agents, customers and business partners.

About Western Union

The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is committed to helping people around the world who aspire to build financial futures for themselves, their loved ones and their communities. Our leading cross-border, cross-currency money movement, payments and digital financial services empower consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments—across more than 200 countries and territories and nearly 130 currencies—to connect with billions of bank accounts, millions of digital wallets and cards, and a global footprint of hundreds of thousands of retail locations. Our goal is to offer accessible financial services that help people and communities prosper. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.

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