WELLS FARGO LIGHTS UP DIWALI BY HELPING GIVE CHILDREN A LIFETIME OF SMILES
SAN FRANCISCO/ NEW YORK (TIP): Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is lighting up Diwali with community celebrations and partnerships throughout the country. In addition to supporting Diwali Festivals and other events across the country, Wells Fargo is working to help bring smiles during the New Year by collaborating with Operation Smile to provide free surgeries for children in India born with cleft lip and cleft palate.
From Sept. 15 to Oct. 26, Wells Fargo will donate $3 to Operation Smile, an international children’s medical charity, for every Wells FargoExpressSend® money transfer to India from an eligible account.* At approximately $240 per surgery, the collaboration between Wells Fargoand Operation Smile is expected to help fund hundreds of life-changing surgeries for children and young adults in India. Wells Fargo will make a $25,000 minimum donation to Operation Smile with a maximum donation of$50,000. More information about the collaboration is available
atwww.wellsfargo.com/diwalismiles.
“Operation Smile is honored to be partnering with Wells Fargo this Diwali season,” said Lisa Jardanhazy, Corporate & Public Relations vice president for Operation Smile. “Every three minutes a child is born with a cleft. These children have twice the odds of dying before their first birthday, and those who survive have difficulty eating, speaking, hearing or breathing. We are grateful for Wells Fargo’s support to allow us to help these children, which truly falls in line with the giving and celebratory nature of Diwali.”
Additionally, for the second year, Wells Fargo was the major supporter of the Diwali celebration in Times Square in New York City on Sept. 20. This year, Wells Fargo kicked off the festivities by encouraging attendees and followers of the event to help light the ceremonial diya. By sharing the hashtag #DiwaliSmiles prior to the event on social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram, people onsite and following online helped collectively raise the electronic diya’s flame until it reached the top and kicked off the star-studded Bollywood concert and event.
“Wells Fargo is excited to celebrate Diwali with our customers at events across the country, as well as around the world through social media,” said Michael Lacorazza, senior vice president and Head of Integrated Marketing at Wells Fargo. “We’re also very proud to support the work done by Operation Smile, which makes an incredible difference in the lives of children and their families. I encourage everyone to join us this year as we celebrate Diwali and support such a worthy cause.”
Other Diwali events Wells Fargo will be supporting across the country this year, among many, include the Diwali Festival in Pleasanton, Calif. and a Bollywood Movie Night out in seven cities, including Washington D.C., Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, New Jersey and the Bay Area.
“At Wells Fargo, we’re committed to supporting the diverse communities where our customers live and work,” said Micky Randhawa, Wells Fargo’s East Bay Regional President. “We are looking forward to celebrating Diwali with our customers and team members at events like the one in Times Square, and online with
#DiwaliSmiles. We’re thrilled to be partnering with an organization that helps make such a meaningful impact on the lives of children and young adults in India.”
Wells Fargo knows that many families send money to loved ones in India to celebrate Diwali, and the company offers a $0 transfer fee forExpressSend® customers sending more than $500 to India from an eligible Wells Fargo account. Also, new ExpressSend® customers with an eligible Wells Fargo account receive a $0 transfer fee on their first transfer when they sign up and send money from their account by December 31, 2014.
Wells Fargo has continuously contributed to local communities since the company’s inception in 1852. In 2013, Wells Fargo invested a record $275.5 million in 18,500 nonprofits, educational programs, and schools, including to organizations specifically serving the Asian community, such as South Asian Young Women Entrepreneurs (SAY WE). In 2012, The Chronicle of Philanthropy named Wells Fargo the #1 corporate donor in the United States.
Open to residents of the 50 U.S. states and D.C. only. Void where prohibited. Wells Fargo will donate $3 to Operation Smile for each transfer made to India from an eligible ExpressSend account between 9/15/14-10/26/14. Wells Fargo will make a $25,000 minimum donation to Operation Smile with a maximum of $50,000. This does not constitute an endorsement of any product or service by Operation Smile. To learn more about Operation Smile visit: operationsmile.org
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.6 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 locations, 12,500 ATMs, and the internet (wellsfargo.com), and has offices in 36 countries to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 265,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 29 on Fortune’s 2014 rankings of America’s largest corporations. In 2013, the Company invested $275.5 million in grants to 18,500 nonprofits, and team members contributed more than 1.69 million volunteer hours around the country. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Wells Fargo perspectives and stories are also available at blogs.wellsfargo.com and atwellsfargo.com/stories.
About Operation Smile
Operation Smile, headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, is an international children’s medical charity with a presence in more than 60 countries, whose network of more than 5,400 medical volunteers from over 80 countries is dedicated to helping improve the health and lives of children. Since its founding in 1982, Operation Smile has provided more than 220,000 free surgical procedures for children and young adults born with cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities. To build long-term self-sufficiency in resource poor environments, Operation Smile trains doctors and local medical professionals in its partner countries so they are empowered to treat their local communities. Operation Smile also donates medical equipment, supplies and provides year-round medical treatment through its worldwide centers.
(Press Release)