(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 12, 2007--The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a global leader in money-transfer services, and Jobs for America's Graduates, Inc. (JAG) today launched an innovative financial literacy curriculum aimed to train and empower students.

Developed by Western Union exclusively for JAG, the program is designed to empower the next generation of consumers with the knowledge to better understand financial instruments. It will be rolled out in each state where JAG programs are offered.

The announcement was made by Fred Niehaus, senior vice president of Public Affairs, Western Union, and Ken Smith, president of JAG, during a press conference held today in Orlando, FL.

While financial literacy is essential, the curriculum goes beyond the classroom by laying a foundation for students to understand the importance of financial management and its relevance post-graduation. The curriculum offers key insights on the inter-relationship between payments, debt, savings and money management; elements that are essential for successful financial growth. The learning program provides culturally relevant tools and stories based on Western Union's unique experience with minority and immigrant communities. It builds a bridge from understanding bill payments, money transfers, money orders and pre-paid debit cards to building savings toward future goals, assets and entrepreneurship.

"We are honored to have a company such as Western Union that embraces this innovative model of experiential learning and workforce training as our partner," said Smith. "It is through this kind of collaboration that corporations can aid in the process of growing and nurturing a well-educated workforce."

"Getting the basic foundation of a financial education at an early age is critical to help teens become successful and financially-responsible adults," said Niehaus. "Western Union's partnership with JAG will help empower our nation's youth."

About JAG

Jobs for America's Graduates, Inc. is a national non-profit corporation established for the purpose of assisting states in creating a dropout prevention and school-to-career transition system for at-risk youth based on the JAG Model. The JAG Model is delivered in approximately 700 schools in urban, rural and suburban communities in 28 states serving approximately 40,000 students in the in-school and follow-up phases of the JAG program. More than 500,000 youth have received the benefits of JAG Model services over the past 26 years. For more information, visit www.jag.org.

About Western Union

Western Union, together with its affiliates Orlandi Valuta and Vigo, is a leading provider of global money transfer services, providing people with fast, reliable and convenient ways to send money around the world, pay bills and purchase money orders through a network of more than 305,000 Agent locations in over 200 countries and territories. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.

Copyright Business Wire 2007

Western Union

Western Union

The Western Union Company, a leader in global payment services, believes access to financial services is a necessity. Western Union moves money reliably and quickly to almost every country - and we do it for extraordinary people seeking a better life and for businesses that generate jobs and opportunity.

Our business changes lives for the better. So does the Western Union Foundation: since 2001, the Western Union Foundation has awarded more than $101.1 million in grants to more than 2,730 nongovernmental organizations in more than 135 countries and territories..

More from Western Union