NEW YORK –Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is celebrating Diwali with a $50,000 donation 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.   

“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.  “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 Oct. 16, 2015 to Nov. 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.

“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. “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, Calif. 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.

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.

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) 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. With approximately 266,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 30 on Fortune’s 2015 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Wells Fargo perspectives are also available at Wells Fargo Blogs and Wells Fargo Stories.

About Operation Smile

Operation Smile, headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, is an international children’s medical charity with a presence in more than 60 countries, whose network of more than 5,400 medical volunteers from over 80 countries is dedicated to helping improve the health and lives of children. Since its founding in 1982, Operation Smile has provided more than 220,000 free surgical procedures for children and young adults born with cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities. To build long-term self-sufficiency in resource poor environments, Operation Smile trains doctors and local medical professionals in its partner countries so they are empowered to treat their local communities. Operation Smile also donates medical equipment, supplies and provides year-round medical treatment through its worldwide centers.