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INVESTING IN COMMUNITIES

Pandemic Response in India targeted for donation by MUFG Union Bank Foundation

3 Minute Read
June 23, 2021
Investing in Communities

MUFG Union Bank has announced that it is donating $1.1 million to organizations supporting India in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 began surging in India earlier this year, and while case rates have fallen since peaking in early May, they are still higher as of mid-June than the country had seen at any point during 2020.

“India is facing a severe crisis in dealing with the pandemic, and we want to help,” said Julius Robinson, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility for the Americas for MUFG Union Bank. “We conducted extensive research and gathered input from ASPIRE, our Asian Pacific Islander enterprise resource group, to identify U.S.-based organizations to receive our donation in supporting India’s relief efforts.”

Chris Yeung, National Co-Chair of ASPIRE for MUFG Union Bank, said ASPIRE nominated 16 organizations for consideration.

“We are proud that MUFG is pitching in to help address the tragic situation in India,” Yeung said. “ASPIRE members were eager to help identify possible organizations for the bank to partner with.”

The four organizations that were selected from the 16 nominated are:

  • The Association for India’s Development
  • The International Association for Human Values
  • The NASSCOM Foundation
  • Sewa International

The organizations were selected based on the opportunity to see the impact of giving, show solidarity with the bank’s vendors, connect with colleagues, and serve marginalized populations, Robinson said.

“With a high degree of confidence, we feel that leveraging these organizations is the best option to ensure that our support gets directly to the ground and creates the greatest impact,” he said.

The MUFG Union Bank Foundation support complements a commitment from MUFG India to combat the pandemic through partnerships with Habitat for Humanity and the United Way. The two efforts total $1.1 million.

This is in addition to nearly $200,000 in vital CSR investments that MUFG India has provided for meals and food ration kits for migrant workers since March 2020. More details on the MUFG India support for the pandemic response in India are available in a news release issued June 14.

 

Written by Erik Battenberg