LG Uplus announced on the 7th that it has continued to provide donations and mentoring activities to 488 disabled youth from families with disabilities over the past 15 years through the "Dream U+ Magic Account" in partnership with the Korea Association of People with Disabilities Rehabilitation.
The "Dream U+ Magic Account," hosted by LG Uplus and organized by the Korea Association of People with Disabilities Rehabilitation, has been a matching fund type of social contribution activity since 2010, selecting youth from families with disabilities aged 13 (first year of middle school) each year to create scholarships for college registration or job preparation.
LG Uplus employees serve as mentors, donating 20,000 won from their monthly salaries, while the mentee youth also save 20,000 won each month for their dreams, leading to LG Uplus matching the amount with an additional 60,000 won every month in the form of a savings account. The mentee youth receive a scholarship of 6 million won and a certain amount of interest upon graduating from high school, which they can use for entering college or for social independence funds.
Starting this year, the number of employee mentors per mentee youth will increase to two. The number of employees wanting to participate has significantly increased, and this reflects internal feedback to help mentee youth build more diverse relationships and relieve the pressure of one-on-one communication.
The amount of financial independence for the youth will also increase. If two employee mentors and the mentee each save 20,000 won, totaling 60,000 won each month, LG Uplus has decided to add 80,000 won to the existing 60,000 won. This means that a total of 140,000 won will be saved each month for each mentee, resulting in 8.4 million won saved by the time the youth graduates from high school, which will be given as a scholarship including interest.
As of now, the total amount saved by LG Uplus for the 488 youth who participated in the Dream U+ Magic Account is approximately 2.168 billion won.
The 15th kickoff ceremony for the Dream U+ Magic Account is scheduled to take place at the LG Uplus Yongsan Building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 23rd. Thirty mentees and sixty mentors will begin their activities by participating in a two-day ski camp after the ceremony.
Lee Hong-ryul, head of the ESG Promotion Office at LG Uplus, said, "I hope that employee mentors and disabled youth mentees will build deep bonds through the program and have opportunities to realize their dreams."