TORONTO, June 16, 2012 /CNW/ - Citi is highlighting its long-standing
commitment to communities by marking its 200th anniversary today with Global Community Day, an event celebrated in 92
countries with nearly 100,000 Citi volunteers - the largest number of
participants ever.
Citi volunteers will gather on the seventh annual Global Community Day
to participate in 1,300 service projects around the world. In Canada,
more than 500 Citi volunteers will be giving their time in nine events
across the country, ranging from collecting and sorting food for the
hungry, revitalizing parks in local communities and building homes with
Habitat for Humanity.
Global Community Day serves as an annual opportunity for Citi employees,
alumni, family and friends around the world to gather as one to
demonstrate a shared commitment to its communities -- a commitment that
is carried out year-round by many employees who regularly volunteer
their time. This shared commitment has been embodied in Citi employees
since the company was established in 1812. It's that spirit of Common
Purpose that Citi proudly celebrates on its 200th anniversary.
"For two centuries, Citi colleagues have worked to enable economic
progress and support our clients on their journey from ambition to
achievement," said Citi CEO Vikram Pandit. "There is no better way to
celebrate our 200th anniversary than by honoring our history, embracing the future, and
working together to strengthen the communities where we live and work."
"With more than 500 Citi volunteers, this marks our most successful
Global Community Day in Canada yet," said John Hastings, Chairman and
CEO of Citibank Canada. "Making such a tangible contribution to our
local communities, along with 100,000 colleagues around the world, is a
great way to celebrate this significant milestone for Citi."
Citi volunteers throughout Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East,
Africa, Latin America, and North America will lend their time, skills
and expertise to concentrate on local community needs, including
financial inclusion, college and career mentoring, neighborhood
revitalization, housing, disaster relief and environmental protection.
Throughout the world, anyone interested in staying up-to-date on the
latest Global Community Day news and events can follow #200YearsCiti on Twitter. Highlights of Citi's volunteer projects around the world
include:
Asia Pacific
Maintaining its place at the top of the annual volunteer leaderboard,
Asia Pacific will again have the largest turnout of volunteers across
Citi's regions. In Hong Kong, 4,000 volunteers will partner with 13 NGOs to host a wide range
of community service and fundraising activities for the elderly,
underprivileged children and families, and other underserved groups.
Approximately 2,000 volunteers in China will participate in a walkathon to raise funds to improve the nutrition
of more than 3,400 children from some of China's most impoverished
communities. Under the theme of 'Green Citi, Clean City,' South Korea's 50 activities will involve 4,000 volunteers in environmental protection
efforts in botanical gardens and eco parks. In Thailand, 2,000
volunteers will support those affected by the floods in 2011 by
fundraising to help five damaged schools and 200 underprivileged
students.
Europe, Middle East and Africa
In Spain, close to 100 people ranging from 4 to 99 years old are taking part in a
fundraising event called the Citi Mini Olympics. More than 1,000
volunteers in Pakistan will take part in the Citi 200 Community Carnival benefitting patients
of a local cancer hospital. In Kenya, volunteers in Nairobi will partner with Habitat for Humanity's Maai
Mahiu Internally Displaced Persons project at Naivasha, which seeks to
provide decent, durable and permanent houses. Citi Nigeria volunteers in Lagos will be working at the National Museum to restore
storage rooms for Nigeria's historical artifacts.
Latin America and Mexico
In Guatemala, more than 2,000 volunteers will be working on various neighborhood
revitalization projects including repairing playgrounds, schools and
sidewalks, painting murals, planting trees and installing streetlamps
built with recycled materials. In Argentina, 1,600 volunteers will work with local schools, hospices, and homes in
18 cities across the country and hold a Sustainability Fair to benefit
local non-profit partners. 1,300 Citi volunteers in Panama will remodel classrooms in the capital and clean up beaches to
celebrate World Oceans Day. In Mexico, more than 5,000 volunteers across 62 cities, including Mexico City,
will come together to plant nearly 25,000 trees and improve green areas
in the local communities.
North America
Across the New York tri state area more than 4,500 employees will be engaged in various
community projects, including teaching financial skills with Junior
Achievement, revitalizing Hudson River Park, cleaning city beaches,
preparing disaster cleanup kits with the American Red Cross, preparing
summer camps for underprivileged children, building bicycles for
children of military families, and restoring historic landmarks. Citi
volunteers in Los Angeles and Fresno will utilize their skills to provide financial literacy classes at
Financial Family Days. In Tucson, employees are involved in various community development projects and
will assemble care packages for families of military service members.
In St. Louis, under the banner of "200 Acts of Kindness", more than 600 volunteers
will reach out into the local community and volunteer their services to
various causes including literacy, food distribution and revitalizing
community spaces. Across Canada more than 500 Citi volunteers will work to provide food to the hungry,
shelter to the homeless and green public parks.
About Citi
Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer
accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and
jurisdictions. Citi provides 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, transaction services, and wealth
management.
Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com | Twitter: @Citi | YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi | Blog: http://new.citi.com | Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi