For almost 15 years, Diane Irving has worked with her offices at Smith Barney to capitalize on the excitement of the Super Bowl to raise awareness and funds for Boca Helping Hands. This year’s SOUPerbowl at the West Boca Raton Branch #817 generated $1400 in monetary donations from employees in addition to a large collection of non-perishable food items to help feed the hungry through the non-profit organization’s Food Program.

Boca Helping Hands provides compassionate services to benefit individuals, families, and children in the community during times of need, emergency or crisis. “Without the support of partners in the community like Citi, we would not be able to serve the thousands of people that come to us every month,” said Linda Gove, Executive Director of Boca Helping Hands.

SOUPerbowl festivities began with a Jersey & Jeans Day on Friday, January 16, when the office announced that all employees who donated $5 got to wear their favorite NFL team Jersey and blue jeans to work that day. Branch Manager Nicole Rothenberg noted that “Giving back to our communities is a fundamental priority for Citi, and the volunteer efforts of our employees is a key part of our strategy.”

On SOUPerbowl Friday before the big-game in Tampa between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals, raffle tickets were distributed and a second Jersey and Jeans Day was announced. This event helped to generate the bulk of the donations collected. Each employee who made a donation received an admission ticket to a special luncheon along with a chance to win one of the eight raffle prizes given out that day with drawings held every half hour. Food for the luncheon was provided by the employees, who brought their favorite dishes for all to share.

About Boca Helping Hands
About Boca Helping Hands: Boca Helping Hands is dedicated to providing compassionate service through food and assistance programs to families, children and individuals to instill dignity and break the cycle of dependence. Each year Boca Helping Hands serves over 20,000 hot meals and delivers over 6,500 hot meals to the homebound. Financial assistance is also provided to over 500 families and individuals in crisis situations.

For nearly 10 years through its food and assistance programs, Boca Helping Hands has empowered well over 250 volunteers to touch the lives of people in crisis situations. The organization has established partnerships with other local non-profit organizations in a collaborative effort to provide access to resources and services that educate and build self-sufficiency. Through its Job Mentoring program, Boca Helping Hands has developed a team of volunteer mentors who help individuals improve their chances of securing employment, as well as assist in locating better job opportunities for the underemployed. For more information on Boca Helping Hands, call 561.417.0913 or visit us online at www.bocahelpinghands.org

About Citi
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Citi's major brand names include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney, Banamex, and Nikko. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com