Andrew Au (right), CEO of Citi China, hands the volunteer's flag to a Citi employee in a ceremony prior to the Community Walk on November 8.

While banks across the world are fighting against the worsening financial crisis, Citibank, one of the largest financial institutions in the globe, keeps its promise of rewarding society in its struggle to ride out the hard times.

On November 8, tens of thousands of Citi volunteers in 100 countries were mobilized during the company's third annual Global Community Day, an annual initiative to bring company employees, along with their families and friends, together as a global volunteer team.

In Shanghai, headquarters of Citi's China subsidiary, hundreds of employees and their loved ones, no matter their ages or positions in the company, walked under drizzling skies in the Citi Community Walk, in Century Park, Pudong New Area.

Citi staff showed their support for education in Sichuan, where a May 12 earthquake left numerous children homeless and with no access to a normal school life.

During the walk, members of the American bank opened their wallets at a number of points along the 8 km route.

The money raised will be used for training teaching staff, construction of libraries and sports facilities for schools set up under Project Hope in Aba prefecture, one of the hardest hit areas in the province.

Project Hope, led by China Youth Development Foundation, is one of China's most renowned public welfare projects. Launched on October 30, 1989, it pools donations to help impoverished rural school children complete primary school education.

"Helping to train a teacher from remote mountainous area could change the fate of more children born in poverty-stricken families," says Chen Jianpei, a director at China Youth Development Foundation. "The key to boosting primary education in underdeveloped regions is to improve the expertise of teachers and management staff. Citi's donations will help provide training opportunities for 50 teaching staff from at least 25 primary schools, which will benefit 7,000 children from these areas."

Andrew Au, CEO of Citi China, says the event held at the bank's China headquarters demonstrates its long-time commitment to communities.

"The drizzle is only a small challenge," he says, "the determination and their care about China's public welfare will be demonstrated by persistent care."

Citi, one of the first foreign banks to establish a local presence in China, is a long-term supporter of local communities. It has already committed more than $10.5 million in Citi Foundation grants, and time, knowledge and skills through extensive employee volunteerism.

As a firm believer in the importance of educating the next generation, Citi China has supported a number of innovative youth programs.

After the devastating quake in Sichuan, Citi donated more than $3.1 million to support disaster relief efforts. Its employees in China also organized relief drives and volunteered for non-profit organizations that needed extra help during the tragic time.

The community walk is the latest addition to the effort, a new program, which is joined by 100 teaching staff from schools set up under Project Hope, who were in Shanghai participating in a two-week training program.

Among the teachers was Luo Yuanhe, president of the Louqiao primary school in Ji'an, Jiangxi province. With roughly 600 pupils, the school is situated next to a national highway in the mountainous area.

Initially set up in the 1960s, the school ramped up a little in 2004, with millions of yuan donated by entrepreneurs who originated from the area.

Most of the children in Luo's school live with grandparents who farm and are supported by parents who are working as migrant workers in big cities, says the president.

"Ironically the school is the best in the town, because it enjoys (the limited) resources offered by the town," Luo says. There are also 10 village-level primary schools under the guidance of Luoqiao, where the dropout rate is staggeringly high due to poverty.

When the program ends, Luo will go back to his township and share his training results with teachers in the town.

A small portion of teachers will also be selected for personal training by Luo, and then go on to train their peers.