Is volunteering just work and time devoted to helping others? Of course, but equally important is the ability to get others involved in achieving its objectives. This was the case with the Citi Skills Marathon, a program that teaches budget management and techniques of self-presentation to caregivers and residents of children's homes across Poland. On Saturday, June 14 the project finale took place in Warsaw, with 9 centers and 20 teenagers taking part this year.
"Caregiving institutions, such as children's homes, bear considerable responsibility for preparing the young people in their care to enter adulthood. This requires the ability to impart knowledge from a variety of fields, including finance. That's exactly why, as people who deal with money on a daily basis, we wanted to share our knowledge and experience with the young people living in children's homes in order to prepare them to independently manage their household budgets. It is very important that already at the outset they have a reservoir of knowledge that will enable them to have a good start in adult life," says Slawomir S. Sikora, President of Citi Handlowy, which took part in educational activities as part of the Citi Skills Marathon program.
During workshops, participants had the task of preparing a presentation titled "The Art of Saving" under the guidance of caregivers and volunteers, which was presented during the project finale. This is one way to consolidate knowledge gained and build self-confidence in public speaking.
As part of this year's Citi Skills Marathon, training was conducted for 18 caregivers from 9 care facilities for young people. The program makes use of the experience of volunteers, gained during the My Finances program run by The Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation at Citi Handlowy in cooperation with the National Bank of Poland (NBP) and the Junior Achievement Foundation. During the training, caregivers from children's homes also received lesson plans and subject-related materials for teenagers covered by the program.
This Citi volunteers project is one of over 160 events which will take place from May to July across Poland as part of Global Community Day. This is a worldwide Citi project carried out every year - Bank employees, along with their families, friends, and colleagues try to solve specific problems in communities close to them. In 2014 Global Community Day is being celebrated in 95 countries. Around the world, 1096 volunteer projects will be carried out aimed at local communities in which persons employed by Citi live and work.
The Employee Volunteering Program at Citi Handlowy, within which the largest project implemented is Global Community Day, was launched in 2005. Today it is one of the oldest and largest initiatives of its kind in Poland.
