Wells Fargo is celebrating Diwali across the US.
AB Wire
NEW YORK: Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) has donated $50,000 to Operation Smile to help provide life-changing surgeries for children and young adults in India who are born with cleft lip and cleft palate.
To help kick-off the Indian New Year, the company will participate in a series of Diwali community celebrations throughout the country, including events in California, New Jersey and Texas, according to a press release.
“Operation Smile is honored to be partnering again this year with Wells Fargo to celebrate the Diwali season,” said Lisa Jardanhazy, Vice President Global Media Strategy & Public Relations for Operation Smile, in a statement. “Wells Fargo’s good will and generosity helps Operation Smile provide increased access to surgical services for children around the world. We are grateful to have Wells Fargo’s support and partnership in our belief that all children deserve safe, well-timed and effective surgery to repair their cleft conditions.”
From October 16 to November 30, 2015, Wells Fargo encourages customers to send their own smiles and holiday goodwill to those in India by making a donation to Operation Smile. Customers can make a donation and learn more about the company’s collaboration with Operation Smile by visiting www.wellsfargo.com/diwalismiles
“We’re very proud to support Operation Smile, which makes an incredible difference in the lives of children and their families who couldn’t otherwise afford the surgeries which cost approximately $240,” said Rajnish Bharadwaj, executive vice president and head of Cross Border Strategy and Governance at Wells Fargo, in a statement. “At Wells Fargo, we’re committed to support the diverse communities where we live and work and I encourage everyone to join us this year as we celebrate Diwali and support such a worthy cause.”
To celebrate Diwali with customers and the community, Wells Fargo also is supporting a concert, exclusive Bollywood movie screenings and a series of melas, or festivals, throughout the country. These include a concert in San Jose on November 13, and Diwali festivals in Pleasanton, California, on October 24; Dallas, Texas on October 31 and Edison, New Jersey on November 7. Bollywood Movie Night Out events will be held in Los Angeles and Washington D.C.
This year, Wells Fargo once again is offering customers new Asian Indian art-inspired debit card designs. New and current customers can personalize their debit cards with six design options available at Wells Fargo’s Card Design Studio® service.
Wells Fargo knows that many families send money to loved ones in India to celebrate Diwali, and using its ExpressSend® service, customers can send money to family and friends at more than 5,700 ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank locations and 22,600 ATMs across India.
There is no transfer fee when customers send more than $500 to India from an eligible account and transactions $500 and less have a transfer fee of $5. The ExpressSend service allows customers to send money easily and conveniently online through wellsfargo.com/sendmoneynow, by calling 1-800-556-0605 or by visiting a Wells Fargo banking store, making Wells Fargo the only U.S. commercial bank to offer all three channels for remitting funds. The first remittance for each service agreement must be completed in person at a store. In addition to the transfer fee, Wells Fargo makes money if converting U.S. dollars to a foreign currency.
Wells Fargo has contributed to local communities since the company’s inception in 1852. In 2014, Wells Fargo invested a record $281.2 million in 17,100 nonprofits, educational programs, and schools, including to organizations specifically serving the Asian community, such as South Asian Young Women Entrepreneurs (SAY WE). In 2013, The Chronicle of Philanthropy named Wells Fargo the #1 most generous cash donor in the United States.
Wells Fargo & Company is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.7 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through 8,700 locations, 12,800 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 36 countries to support customers who conduct business in the global economy.