MoneyGram Foundation expands literacy project to Bicol Region
LEGAZPI, Philippines – MoneyGram International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MGI), a global provider of innovative money transfer services, continues to inspire and empower the school-aged youth of the Philippines at the second major event of MoneyGram Foundation’s “Inspiring Minds with the Gift of Literacy” project, in collaboration with The Asia Foundation.
A total of 6,000 books and two mobile “MoneyGram Gift Carts” were turned over to 15 elementary schools during the event. These books will benefit students and teachers in the underserved and rural communities in cities of Legazpi and Iriga of the Bicol Region.
To further engage and inspire the young students in attendance, the book giving program included a Tongue Twister Poem reading contest between teachers and pupils, followed by a Career Talk led by professionals hailing from the Region. The speakers emphasized how education helped them achieve their dream career that led to a better life.
Other event attendees were representatives from MoneyGram and The Asia Foundation, as well as Brand Ambassador Robin Padilla, who all stressed the importance of reading and education.
“The MoneyGram Foundation was established with the goal of empowering school-aged youth through educational initiatives across the globe,” said Sabrina Chan, MoneyGram’s Marketing Leader for Asia Pacific, Middle East and South Asia regions.
“The partnership with The Asia Foundation’s Books for Asia program ensures students not only access to books and libraries, but also a chance for better economic opportunities, healthier families, and individual freedom and empowerment," she continued.
The mobile MoneyGram Gift Carts and the new books will allow students in the most remote parts of the Philippines to have access to learning resources that will help improve literacy and quality of education.
For The Asia Foundation, Country Representative Sam Chittick said, "The Asia Foundation’s Books for Asia program has donated books to the underserved communities of the Philippines since 1954 and continues to believe in the power of literacy to positively impact lives, both now and in the future."
He added, "The Asia Foundation is grateful to the MoneyGram Foundation for its support in helping communities across the Philippines.”
To know more about MoneyGram's literacy project, visit http://www.moneygramfoundation.org/.
