Citibank has made a second donation of $40,000 to the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands to expand the learning center project the bank sponsors locally and to conduct a study of entrepreneurial programs in the territory.
Alvaro Jaramillo, Citibank country business manager for Puerto Rico, presented a check in that amount Wednesday to CFVI on behalf of Citibank US Virgin Islands. The money will be used to build on Citibank's initiative of developing economic self-reliance learning centers in low-income and public housing communities.
The Citibank Community Fund was established within CFVI in October 1998 with an initial commitment of $40,000. So far, it has set up Citibank centers within the Evelyn Webster Learning Center in the Paul M. Pearson Gardens housing community and in the Tutu High Rise housing community.
Outfitted with state-of-the-art computer equipment, the Citibank centers offer training in computer literacy, job readiness, entrepreneurship and debt management.
Wednesday's donation will enable the Citibank fund to expand the "successful model" of the learning center "by including more partners in the collaborative development of the centers and by extending the initiative to St. Croix," a release from CFVI stated.
Additionally, the grant will provide for "a comprehensive exploration of entrepreneurial projects and programs in the Virgin Islands and the identification of some ‘best practices' from the Caribbean and U.S.," CFVI's release said. This study will culminate in a Citibank Symposium of Entrepreneurial Excellence, it said.
Through its community fund at CFVI, Citibank is "creating a network for entrepreneurial initiatives that will have an exponential impact on community development," the release said.
For more information about the Citibank Community Fund or CFVI, call foundation executive director Dee Baecher-Brown at 774-6031.
