Citi employees show they care during 13th annual Global Community Day

MANILA, Philippines – Every year, Citi employees in the Philippines volunteer their time and talent to Global Community Day (GCD) alongside eight community partners. In its 13th year, this tradition of giving back has grown from strength-to-strength with more than 5,500 employees and their families taking part in 29 volunteer activities organized over five weekends in Metro Manila and Cebu.

Citi employees in the Philippines unite with thousands of colleagues across 90 countries and territories to volunteer on service projects that are helping address a range of community needs.

“Global Community Day is now a long-running tradition that gives Citi colleagues all around the world an opportunity to further demonstrate our values to the communities we serve,” said Citi’s global CEO Michael Corbat. "While our presence as a firm may be global, the real impact on this day is local, and one example of how we are enabling progress in a big way.”

In the Philippines, events are planned to ensure local relevance and impact. As the largest foreign bank in the country, Citi is steadfast in its commitment to enable progress in the country, from education to disaster relief.

“I’m proud to volunteer alongside more than 5,000 of my colleagues and their family members,” said Citi Philippines chief executive officer Aftab Ahmed. “Citi is committed to making a positive difference in the communities where we live and work and I’m thrilled that the participation of the team has continued to grow every year.”

Community partnerships

This year, Citi Philippines partnered with Habitat for Humanity, GMA Kapuso Foundation, Philippine Business for Social Progress, World Vision Development Foundation, ChildHope Philippines, Bayan Academy, Gawad-Kalinga and the Philippine Foundation for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled.

For Citi employees, volunteerism is a way to give back to the communities where they live and work.

On May 26, over 300 Citi employees traveled to the Gawad-Kalinga Bayanihan Village in Dasmarinas, Cavite to plant vegetables, build homes and help conduct healthy cooking classes for homemakers in the community.

Citi volunteers cheerfully dig ditches at the GK Bayanihan Village for Global Community Day. Released

The spirit of volunteerism was on display as Citi employees worked up a sweat carrying and laying bricks, mixing cement, painting houses and ploughing land.

“Seeing our people across the organization come together inspires me to want to give back even more,” said Citi volunteer Annalyn Lee. “Dedicating personal time to do community work regardless of the task at hand showcase how we as an organization stay true to our values and stand strong together like family.”

On June 2 and 9, hundreds of Citi volunteers participated in “Brigada Eskwela”, a partnership with the Department of Education and the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) to help prepare public schools for the coming school year. Employees and their families painted desks and chairs and covered books donated by Citi employees. Teams took time out of their weekends to volunteer at three schools: Abellana National High School in Cebu City; Upper Bicutan Elementary School in Taguig City; and Sto. Nino Elementary School in Marikina City.

“We value our longtime partnership with Citi and salute these employees who willingly take precious time off to volunteer in company advocacies in their own simple ways,” said PBSP President Brother Armin Luistro. “The support of Citi Philippines and its hundreds of employee-volunteers at our “Ready for School” preparations showcase the many significant contributions that help scale up our interventions in the education sector.”

Citi volunteers also gave a lending hand to Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore, a nonprofit home improvement store and donation center that sells new and used and gently used furniture, appliances, building materials and more to the public at a fraction of the retail price.

Over several weekends, different groups of Citi volunteers spent a Saturday morning at ReStore in Las Pinas to process inventory and tag donated items with prices.  Proceeds will be used to help fund Habitat for Humanity’s projects to build homes for families in need. 

More than 300 Citi volunteers painted school chairs and desks as part of PBSP’s Brigada Eskwela. Released

Breaking records

Citi has continued to grow its footprint in the Philippines. In 2018, Citi’s total employee population reached 8,000. In line with the growth of the company, GCD has expanded significantly over the past few years. 2018 is no exception, with record participation of more than 5,500 volunteers. Employees and community partners have also engaged on social media using the hashtag #CitiVolunteers.

“Thanks to our nonprofit and community partners, we have organized a record number of activities for our employees this year,” said Lisa Coory, head of Public Affairs at Citi Philippines. “Our Citi volunteers in the Philippines are among the most active globally and we look forward to harnessing their spirit of service not only during Global Community Day but also throughout the year.”

Since the inaugural Global Community Day in 2006, Citi volunteers all over the world have contributed nearly four million hours of services to GCD projects in hundreds of cities.

This year, for the first time, Citi is tracking how the projects are helping advance the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Global Community Day activities are contributing to SDGs including: Zero Hunger (SDG 2); Good Health and Well-Being (SDG 3); Quality Education (SDG 4); Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8); Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11); and Climate Action (SDG 13).

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored content and not covered by Philstar.com's editorial guidelines.