Citi's "Global Community Day" Mobilizes More Than 46,000 Volunteers Across 100 Countries
Tens of thousands of Citi volunteers across the world will be mobilized in the company’s third annual Global Community Day, Saturday, November 8, 2008. Citi expects more than 46,000 volunteers to participate in hundreds of projects around the world in 100 countries.
NEW YORK (PRWEB) November 7, 2008
Many Citi employees volunteer year-round in their communities. Global Community Day is an annual initiative to bring company employees, along with their families and friends, together as a global volunteer team on a single day each year. Local volunteer teams will be working in North America, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa on a variety of projects addressing specific community needs including literacy, housing, environmental protection, nutrition and health care.
"On Global Community Day, Citi employees in more than 100 countries around the world will assemble to make a difference in their local communities," said Pamela Flaherty, president and chief executive officer, Citi Foundation and director, Corporate Citizenship. "In these difficult times, community engagement is more important than ever because the needs are so great. Whether it is teaching financial education to young people; planting trees to combat deforestation; refurbishing schools in poor communities; or serving meals to the homeless, Citi employees will turn out to help. Global Community Day is one of the many ways, from sound business practices to our Foundation programs that Citi strengthens the communities where we live and work."
Highlights of Citi's volunteer projects from around the world:
In the Asia Pacific, volunteers will be teaching personal financial literacy to low-income adults and children. Hundreds will be walking to raise funds to support the school rebuilding effort in the aftermath of the Sichuan, China earthquake and over 1,500 books will be collected to encourage reading among underserved children. Throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa, more than 200 activities are planned to help those in need across the region, from HIV testing in Ghana, to planting trees in Portugal, mentoring senior citizens in Switzerland, visiting an orphanage in Kuwait and building homes in South Africa. Extensive consultations with community partners, government agencies and employees helped ensure that our 10,000 Citi volunteers aid those in most need. In Japan, over two hundred people from Citi and Nikko are cleaning the beach on the beautiful islands of Okinawa while others are preserving the ancient road in the Kumano World Heritage area in Western Japan. Other teams will experience a game of futsal blind-folded with the students from a blind high school in Tokyo. Across Latin America and the Caribbean hundreds of volunteers are refurbishing a number of schools. Others are working on environment-related activities such as tree planting and park and beach clean-up. Additionally, many are visiting children and elderly at orphanages, hospitals and homes. Mexico will host a country-wide food drive in 52 cities, working with a national food bank in collecting and delivering food. Last year the efforts of employees in Mexico yielded 140 tons of food. Across the U. S. students will receive financial education from our volunteers about "Get Smart About Credit" using the Citi Financial Education Curriculum; volunteers are collecting and "scrubbing" cell phones and blackberries at 23 Citi sites for local domestic violence shelters in Citi's "Wireless Roundup;" and food will be collected, community pantries will be stocked and Thanksgiving meals will be served to those in need. Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Citi's major brands include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney and Banamex. Additional information may be found at www. citigroup. com or www. citi. com.
Certain statements in this document are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from those included in these statements due to a variety of factors. More information about these factors is contained in Citi's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
