FedEx Supports the Wells International Foundation

HOUSTON - July 8, 2023 - PRLog -- FedEx is supporting the Wells International Foundation (WIF) in its mission to empower women, children and youth, and persons of African descent to realize their highest potential through arts, literacy, study abroad, and other educational and cultural programs.

WIF Founder & CEO Dr. Monique Y. Wells requested funding from FedEx because of the alignment she found between WIF's activities and FedEx Cares' purpose of connecting people with possibilities and support of women- and minority-owned businesses.  In her request, she shared information about two powerful programs that connect Black youth with the opportunities offered by traveling / studying abroad and by exploring veterinary medicine and other animal-oriented fields as a career.

WIF is proud to partner with Going Global with Barbara (GGwB) – an organization devoted to exposing African-American youth to the possibilities that exist through travel and study abroad – on its groundbreaking International Youth Leadership Program.  Since April 2022, it has welcomed three cohorts of African-American high school students to Paris and organized opportunities for them to meet with admissions teams and visit the campuses of four institutes of higher learning (American University of Paris, Parsons Paris, American Business School, and Sciences Po).  WIF also organized networking dinners at which the high schoolers met Black students enrolled in Paris universities to discuss what life is like as a college student there.

Twenty-six (26) students have experienced the program thus far.  A student from the April 2022 cohort returned with the November 2022 cohort to interview for admission to the American University of Paris and Parsons Paris.  Two new excursions are planned for November 2023.

In June 2023, WIF completed the second consecutive year of its Youth Veterinarian Initiative (YVI) and the first year of its YVI Book Club & Merit Badge Program.  Among its many successes, this initiative has inspired a sixth-grade student in the Houston, TX area to volunteer at a local animal shelter in preparation for her future application to veterinary school, helped fifth graders in Houston, TX pass the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness exam with distinction, and inspired math, social studies, and ELA teachers in Bronx, NY to look for ways to incorporate science topics in their classes.

Dr. Wells commented on the grant as follows:

"Words cannot express our gratitude for FedEx's support for our work to expand the horizons of Black youth in areas they might not otherwise know exist for them.  We firmly believe that "if you can see it, you can be it," and FedEx's generous gift of $7,500 – which greatly exceeded our funding request – will ensure that we can continue to expose our youth to the infinite possibilities that travel/study abroad and life science careers provide."

To learn more about WIF, click here: https://wellsinternationalfoundation.org