Western Union Awards Four Filipinos for Kickstarting Community Building Projects
“Chain of
Betters” makes the world better for others
by helping individuals realize their project ideas
Western
Union announces four “Chain of Betters” awards for
community-building projects in the Philippines
Manila, Philippines.
– March 3, 2016, Western Union announced today that its Chain of Betters competition, which
funds projects that make lasting positive change for communities around the
world, has selected four winning projects that will improve the quality of life
for those living in the Philippines. The four individuals who nominated these
projects will be responsible for making the “better” happen over the next three
months.
The projects that will benefit from the Western Union Chain of Betters awards include:
- “The Disaster Workshop and Equipment” projects, nominated by Jeremiah Datoy, which will provide the indigent people of Tiwi, Albay with communications equipment, rescue materials and disaster preparedness seminars in this area that is effected by 10-15 typhoons each year.
- The “Water for Vegetable Farm” project, nominated by Venus Parmisana, will create a Microcontroller-Based Water Management System (a research and development project by students in MSU-IIT) that will help women farmers augment their income and give them more time with their families.
- The “Help the Aeta Kids Get a Chance at a Better Education” project, nominated by Karlo Manzano, will build a library for the Aeta Children of Sitio Bagong Silang in San Pablo, Castillejos, Zambales, and support ALS (Alternative Learning System) teachers to provide mobile chalkboards and other materials in their outreach to Aeta Kids in the mountain region.
- The “Saludo GenSet – Portable Solar Generator Set” project, nominated by Aquileta Turla, will provide electricity and its many benefits to 16 million people. This gas-free source of renewable energy will keep lights, phones, handheld radios for disaster response, medical equipment and laptops powered on through any situation.
The Western Union® Chain of Betters competition
was designed to kick start a chain of good deeds by awarding US$1,000 (or local
currency equivalent) for winning project ideas nominated by individuals from an
initial group of 20 qualifying countries in 2015.
“The Chain of Betters competition was designed to show how the movement of money can create a ripple effect in communities around the world. We see every day that financial support of any dollar amount can advance the good, simple ideas that have a big impact and create a multiplier effect to improve lives,” said Western Union Vice President, Global Brand & Marketing, Simonetta Rigo. “This competition expresses our deep appreciation for our customers and the people they help regularly through remittances.”
About Western Union
The Western
Union Company
(NYSE: WU) is a leader in global payment services. Together with its Vigo,
Orlandi Valuta, Pago Facil and Western Union Business Solutions branded payment
services, Western Union provides consumers and businesses with fast, reliable
and convenient ways to send and receive money around the world, to send
payments and to purchase money orders. As of September 30, 2015, the Western
Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta branded services were offered through a combined
network of over 500,000 agent locations in 200 countries and territories and
over 100,000 ATMs and kiosks, and included the capability to send money to
millions of bank accounts. In 2014, The Western Union Company completed 255
million consumer-to-consumer transactions worldwide, moving $85 billion of
principal between consumers, and 484 million business payments. For more
information, visit www.westernunion.com