At Hape, we care about people and the environment, and we are committed to making a positive impact on the world. One way we achieve this is through employee volunteer programs and philanthropic activities that focus on the environment and the wellbeing of our communities.
With 2024 well and truly underway, we’d like to take this opportunity to highlight 2023’s philanthropic initiatives and endeavours that have impacted over 5572 children and families worldwide.
Improving Quality of Life for Low-Income Families in the Community
At the end of June, the Hape China team partnered with the “Good Housing Project” to raise funds in order to improve the housing quality and inadequate conditions of low-income households in the community.
The “Good Housing Project” aims to help low-income families with home repairs and remodelling efforts, in an attempt to create a more enjoyable and comfortable home environment.
A special THANK YOU goes out to the 131 members of the Hape China team who raised €336 in funds to support the project.
Building Intergenerational Connections Through Play
At Hape we believe that play can be a common denominator in creating opportunities for bonding among generations, and we are committed to helping promote better understanding and respect between young and old through intergenerational play activities.
That’s why we are proud to announce that we partnered with the Beilun District Central Welfare Institute in 2023 in order to support their “LeLing Project”. The project organises fun intergenerational activities for seniors and children to enjoy together.
These meaningful interactions are not only enjoyable but also promote greater understanding and respect across different age groups.
Senior Toy Experience Workshop
Throughout 2023, members of the Hape China team volunteered on many occasions, organising ten different “toy experience workshops” for seniors in the community.
Our stimulating game activities encouraged laughter and conversation, and promoted meaningful social bonding among the attending seniors.
Promoting Family-Friendly Work Culture
We are proud to announce our continued support for the IETP Family-Friendly Spaces (FFS) Program in China. The FFS-Program responds to the needs of working parents and their young children by creating secure and safe child-friendly spaces in factories.
Now in its 8th year of operation, the program has benefited around 5,500 children and 5,600 working parents, and during June, the Hape China team donated close to 40.000,00 euros worth of toys and pencil cases to the FFS-Program.
Besides this, over 30 Hape China factory workers participated in the IETP organised Family Friendly Factory (FFF) program, which is a parent education program dedicated to building positive parent-child relationships.
Hape Employees Volunteer to Pack School Supplies for Children in Need
During September, and just in time for the back-to-school rush, members of our Hape China Team volunteered an afternoon of their busy schedules to pack 210 bags loaded with school supplies and toys for kindergarteners and school children around China.
The bags were delivered to the BeiBei Children’s Rehabilitation and Education Centre in Hangzhou, who will distribute the goodies to children in need.
A special THANK YOU goes out to all the employees who volunteered their time for this great cause, packing bags and even donating school supplies to help children in need across the region.
Donating Toys to Special Needs DayCare Centres
During October, members of our Hape Mexico team partnered with the Casa de Ángeles and Casa de la Niñez special needs Day Care Centre in Mexico City to deliver a batch of toys to children with disabilities.
Both Day Care Centres specialise in providing accommodation, social assistance, comprehensive rehabilitation, and special education services to children and adolescents with disabilities aged 0-18.
It is through these and other in-kind product donations, that we want to bring love, play and learning to all children, helping them to reach their full potential through the power of play.
Supporting Low-Income Families affected by Childhood Cancer
We are proud of our long-standing partnership with the Ningbo Xiehe Cancer Prevention Foundation that, through our charity funds and in-kind product donations, has continuously and positively impacted low-income families caring for children suffering from cancer in China.
In May 2023, the Hape China team made another charitable contribution to the foundation worth close to €700.
Hape Toys Bring HOPE and JOY to Children Battling with Cancer
A few days before Christmas, the Hape China team partnered with the New Sunshine Charity Foundation to deliver 150 toys to children battling with cancer at the Zhejiang University School of Medicine’s Children's Hospital.
As the team went floor by floor and room to room, children beamed with cheer as they received our toys!
Hape-Huji ‘Preschool of the Future’Project
Caring for children’s well-being and supporting their development through play-based learning has been central to our culture for more than 35 years, and that is why we are committed to supporting children and families from around the world whose access to early childhood education remains a challenge.
In 2021, Hape (China) - together with its subsidiary company, European EducationAll (Ningbo) Ltd., and in collaboration with the Shanghai Huji Foundation and the German Association for Economic Cooperation (Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft, DEG) - launched t he Hape-Huji ‘Preschool of the Future’ Project.
The project aims to strengthen access to, and quality of, early childhood education for 3-6-year-olds in rural Yunnan, China. During 2023, the project received charitable funds worth €142.173,00 and another €22.815,00 euros worth of toys.
Donating Educational Toys to Rural Kindergartens China
Offering children a stimulating, interesting and engaging learning space plays an important role in supporting their development.
During November 2023, the Hape China team - in collaboration with its partner, the Shanghai Huji Foundation - donated €3,828 euros worth of toys to 38 different Kindergartens in rural Yunnan Province, China. The toys will be used during classroom activities, to support children’s ongoing learning through play-based activities.
Learn to Play & Play to Learn – Hape-Huji Employee Volunteer Program
During September, November and December 2023, we continued our ‘Learn to Play & Play to Learn’ employee volunteer program. The program enables our employees to volunteer their time and skills to support our Hape-Huji Pre-school of the Future Project endeavour.
During this time, seven of our Hape China team members spent 14-days at six of our 20 kindergartens, where they volunteered their time and assisted teachers with classroom routines and daily activities, helping to organise parent-child activities, create colourful murals and other wall decorations for the classrooms and provided teacher-training for the toys that Hape has donated to the project. Working together with the local teams, our employees also built outdoor toys from recycled materials for the children to enjoy and treasure.
Planting Oak Trees in Support of Reforestation
Reforestation is the process of recovering forest land by restocking forest land with new trees after it has been cleared. With each tree planted, we can mitigate the effects of global climate change and contribute to biodiversity conservation.
During November 2023, members of Toynamics Europe, Korko and our Joint Venture partner Corticeira Amorim, volunteered their time to plant 2,500 cork oak trees at the Herdade da Baliza estate, in Castelo Branco.
