There are all kinds of motives for undertaking volunteer activities, but the majority of employees acknowledge that behind their decision to get involved in volunteering there was just a simple desire to help others. On June 13 (Saturday), thousands of people around the world will have an opportunity to engage in activities to benefit others. On that day, over 70,000 people from 93 countries will celebrate Citi's Global Community Day already for the tenth time. In Poland as part of this initiative, employees of Citi Handlowy and Citi Service Center Poland are carrying out over 170 volunteer projects in late May and early June.
"Citi's Global Community Day is a festival of our volunteers, but above all, it's a festival of hundreds of organizations which our employees assist with carrying out daily tasks and tackling life challenges. Employee volunteering is an important element of our organizational culture that fosters the development of ethical attitudes and opens us up to dialogue with local communities. I'm glad that so many employees are getting involved with helping others. It's interesting how quickly volunteering can become a passion. Most of our volunteers are people who have already implemented volunteer projects before, and are infecting others with their passion - family members, business partners and customers," says Slawomir S. Sikora, President of Citi Handlowy, a volunteer for 9 years.
More and more firms are recognizing the importance of contributing to the community. This is why in many companies it is becoming increasing popular to organize volunteer initiatives and to create employee volunteering programs, which are appreciated by employees.
A survey of volunteers* clearly shows that thanks to volunteering, employees are better organized and are better able to define goals and set priorities. Moreover, they have a stronger ability to synthesize and analyze information and accurately assess risks (planning and organizing skills, decisiveness). Over half of those surveyed acknowledge that due to their involvement in employee volunteering, they have a better understanding of the context in which their company operates - its mission and vision - and have greater business awareness.
Another motivation for action is the opportunity to make use of one's professional abilities while implementing projects. Nearly half of those surveyed (47%) would like to help others by using their skills and specialized knowledge. The target group for whom Citi employees most willingly volunteer are children and young people, followed in second place by local communities.
Helping the community is an integral part of Citi's strategy. Since 2006, Global Community Day has been celebrated worldwide as an expression of the group's social responsibility. This initiative has the aim of bringing together hundreds of thousands of people around the world, so that they can share their knowledge, experience, and skills. In 2014, 70,000 volunteers worldwide devoted 350,000 hours to carrying out 1200 projects in 93 countries.
* Survey by The Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation, conducted among Citi employees in 2014.
