Thread: Money-Transfer Giant Western Union to 'Celebrate Hispanics'

Western Union Celebrates the Hispanic Community This Holiday Season

National TV Show Host, Ana Maria Canseco, Joins Global Leader in Money Transfers; Launches Campaign to Honor Latinos Nationwide

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Western Union, a leading provider of global money-transfer services, announced the launch of a new campaign targeted toward Hispanics in the United States. This new campaign will be lead by co-anchor of Despierta America and U.S. Hispanic sweetheart Ana Maria Canseco and will include the presentation of artistic murals which celebrate Hispanic heritage, free financial literacy seminars, and innovative non-traditional advertising that promotes cash as the ideal gift this holiday season.

Ana Maria will best help deliver one of Western Union's main messages by bringing to life what really matters during the holidays -- uniting friends and families and inspiring possibilities. As a Western Union spokesperson, Ana Maria will travel across the U.S. to cities such as Los Angeles, New York and Miami to personally meet with the Hispanic community.

"My heart lies within the Hispanic community, and Western Union offers a very important service to my people, especially during the holiday season," said Ana Maria Canseco. "It's beautiful to be close to our community, and that our people have the ability to help those less fortunate with the gift of cash, specifically with such difficult economic times."

To launch the campaign, Western Union has created a national initiative called Proyecto Raices. This nationwide community program consists of the creative development, production, and installment of artistic murals in cities with rich cultural diversity throughout the nation, and is designed to unite local communities, connect a nation and inspire progress. The murals, produced by acclaimed artist Rudy Gutierrez, celebrate and honor the beauty of the Hispanic culture and have already been presented to the communities of Homestead, FL and Dallas, TX.Western Union will unveil the third mural in Los Angeles on December 4th.

"Western Union is committed to the Hispanic community it serves. Through Proyecto Raices in Homestead, Dallas and Los Angeles, we will leave a lasting legacy for these communities, as we celebrate Hispanic culture," said Juan Pablo Valdes, senior marketing director for Western Union. Proyecto Raices will serve as an inspiration and reminder of the beauty and diversity of our culture for generations to come."

As a part of this national campaign, Proyecto Raices also commemorates the beginning of Western Union's commitment to uniting families and friends during the holidays. As the nation nears the most important giving season of the year, Western Union hopes to give not only tangible gifts to the community, but also the gift of knowledge. Therefore, Western Union has partnered with organizations such as CHIRLA and El Rescate, two institutions dedicated to protecting immigrant rights, to offer free financial literacy seminars. In addition, Western Union engaged Rudy Ruiz, Hispanic Advocate and Entrepreneur, to lead these robust sessions educating Hispanics on the importance of financial awareness.

Additionally, Western Union also conducted a survey which found that 56 percent of consumers prefer to receive cash this holiday season instead of any other gift item. After determining that "Cash is the Perfect Gift," Western Union has planned a few surprises at certain diverse community events where they will give cash gifts to those in attendance.

In addition to Ana Maria's participation and Proyecto Raices, Western Union street teams will be engaging one-on-one with the community through a non-traditional and interactive approach. For example, street teams will be teeming throughout the city of Los Angeles, primarily in areas such as Plaza Mexico, where the company's grassroots community efforts will come to life through walking billboards, mobile ads on motorcycles and cash prizes.

The company will also be promoting its Western Union(R) Gold Card program, which offers consumers rewards, convenience and savings. Gold Card holders earn rewards points that can be redeemed for service fee reductions on future qualifying transactions or a selection of gift cards and merchandise. Enrollment is free and may be done over the telephone or at participating Agent locations.

For more information on Western Union's efforts this holiday season, please log on to www.westernunion.com.

About Western Union

The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a leader in global money transfer services. Together with its affiliates, Orlandi Valuta and Vigo, Western Union provides consumers with fast, reliable and convenient ways to send and receive money around the world, as well as send payments and purchase money orders. It operates through a combined network of more than 355,000 Agent locations in over 200 countries and territories. Famous for its pioneering telegraph services, the original Western Union dates back to 1851. For more information, visit www.WesternUnion.com.

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Great...more glorified "graffitti"....funny, any of those kinds of murals usually denote and decorate blighted, urban slums. You won't see these type of "ethno-centric" wall art in the nicer areas of a city nor in affluent or middle-class suburbs...and for good reason. What a waste of time, money and resources....how about putting that money towards getting the children to stay in school, graduate from high school and go on to college?

Western Union is celebrating 3rd world despotism?

I guess they are celebrating Hispanics. I would imagine Western Union has made a pretty penny off Hispanics sending money back home through their services.