STUDENTS from Holy Family Primary and Infant School joined volunteers from Citi Jamaica for an inspiring and fun-filled day at Hope Botanical Gardens, as part of Citi’s Global Community Day activities on June 8. This annual day of service sees the financial institution helping to build thriving communities, enabling growth and progress.

Citi and United Way of Jamaica (UWJ) collaborated to provide 30 vision/dream boards for 30 fifth-grade students from the school, to inspire the young participants to envision their future goals and aspirations under the theme, ‘Dream Big!’

The event had an art therapist who guided the students through the creative process of making their vision boards. Citi employees, along with their families and friends, volunteered their time to support the activity.

Eva Lewis, Citi country officer, expressed her enthusiasm for the initiative.

“At Citi we believe in the power of primary education and the importance of nurturing young minds to support the growth of the next generation of leaders. It’s so inspiring to see the kids here today taking their creativity and innovative skills and placing them on a vision board that reflects themselves.”

And Stephi-Ann Wray from UWJ said the aim was to inspire children to envision their future aspirations and pursue their dreams in various aspects of life, including career, sports, academics, and family.

“Our partnership with Citi for Global Community Day offered a fantastic opportunity to provide these students with an enriching and enjoyable experience. Through the creation of vision boards and interactions with Citi volunteers, who serve as successful role models in their respective fields, we aimed to empower children to see the possibilities and potential of their future paths,” she said.

Holy Family Primary and Infant School teacher Kirstan Webb was ecstatic about the opportunity.

“It’s great! I love these types of uplifting activities. It should impact them in a great way; and they even get to take home and continue to reflect on their vision boards as they grow and work to achieve their goals,” she said.

Lewis explained that the Global Community Day initiative reminds the young students about the importance of dreaming big and setting targets.

“We wanted a session that required the enthusiastic volunteers from Citi to be hands-on and engaged with the students. Based on the delight of the children by the end of the day we can say we were successful in creating a lasting, core memory,” she said.