Volunteers of Citibank Zrt. in Budapest joined more than 50,000 Citi volunteers in 100 countries for the company's third annual "Global Community Day". Employees of Citibank Zrt., including some of their family members and friends, worked on Saturday, November 8 to provide support to an educational institution and a children's hospital in Budapest.

Citi's Global Community Day is a worldwide effort involving hundreds of projects in hundreds of cities around the world. Recognizing that many Citi employees volunteer year-round in their communities, Global Community Day celebrates Citi's volunteer spirit worldwide on one day. Local volunteer teams were working 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 assembled 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 volunteer. Global Community Day is one of many ways, from sound business practices to our Foundation programs that Citi strengthens the communities where we live and work."

Batara Sianturi, Citi Country Officer for Citibank Zrt., said, "I truly enjoyed participating in decorating two classrooms in Prizma Primary School together with my colleagues, which was a great community and team building experience for me. On this day Citi employees around the world have made significant improvements in local communities, through showing exemplary spirit of philanthropy and volunteerism from Citi."

The local projects were developed this year in cooperation with Citibank Zrt.'s non-profit partner organization, United Way Hungary.

"We are glad to have had the opportunity again to co-operate with Citibank in organizing this year's Global Community Day programs in Hungary. The term 'global' is very much relevant for United Way as well, as Citi partnered with local United Way offices in many countries around the world in developing their volunteer programs," said Eva Vörös, Project Manager of the United Way Foundation.

Both volunteer projects run by Citibank Hungary focused on supporting children in Budapest. One team painted some of the walls of the Heim Pal Children's Hospital, and the other team participated in a school revitalization project in Prizma Primary School to decorate classrooms of pupils with mental disabilities and learning difficulties.