TOKYO, Nov. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Astellas Pharma Inc. (headquarters: Tokyo; president & CEO: Yoshihiko Hatanaka) announced for the fifth consecutive year, Astellas Group's global volunteer initiative known as Changing Tomorrow Day that will engage its employees worldwide to enhance the sustainability of society through participation in local volunteer activities through March 2015. Today, Ken Jones, Astellas Pharma EMEA president and CEO, along with local employees, will teach healthy cooking classes at a school in Staines, England for the fourth straight year. The healthy cooking class is for children aged 5-7 and is designed to engage their minds and taste buds on the importance of nutritious meals. Astellas also financially supports the school's nutritious eating cooking club for families.
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As of Nov. 4, more than 6,000 employees across Japan, Asia/Oceania, the Americas and Europe have completed over 13,000 hours of service at hundreds of locations such as hospitals, family shelters, parks, food banks, elderly care facilities, community centers and schools where they engaged in projects to support the themes of health and the environment.
Dr. Kenji Yasukawa, senior vice president, chief strategy officer, chairman of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) committee at Astellas, said, "Astellas is proud to be celebrating the fifth anniversary of Changing Tomorrow Day as we encourage our employees to provide support and contribute to the sustainable development of society and local communities to which we belong. As a good corporate citizen, Astellas will continue to actively engage in initiatives to support the health of people around the world."
Below are examples of initiatives already completed:
On Oct. 28, 2014, the Changing Tomorrow Day volunteering initiative received a Silver award for 'Best community involvement during a CSR program' at the United Kingdom's Corporate Engagement Awards.
About Astellas
Astellas is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the health of people around the world through the provision of innovative and reliable pharmaceutical products. Astellas has approximately 18,000 employees worldwide. For additional information and to learn more about Astellas' corporate social responsibility program, please visit our website at www.astellas.com/en.