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.
These projects create opportunities and spread joy and happiness in our communities by making full use of all of our company resources, including the time of our committed employees, the charitable grants we make to support projects that align with our core values and in-kind product donations that bring love, play and learning to every child in need.
With the first half of 2023 officially over, we invite you to take a few moments to learn about we’ve done in relation to our continued efforts to building a more sustainable and inclusive company - and world! - so that we can all thrive and proper together!
Planting Trees for a Greener Future
March 12th each year marks Chinese National Tree-Planting Day, which is a day designed to encourage people to plant and protect trees, and is, without a doubt, the perfect day to put some trees in the ground and make the neighbourhood and the wider world a greener place. And so, with the help of the local Landscape Bureau, the Hape China team - together with its subsidiary companies European EducationAll (Ningbo) Ltd., DeYi (Ningbo) Brand Management development Co.Ltd and YiXing Chuangpei (Ningbo) Toys Co., Ltd - volunteered their time to plant 18 Gingko Trees at a nearby Foreign Language School.
Creative Circular Economy Workshop
At the end of March, Hape China teamed up with China’s Charity Store Buy42 to host an Idle Transformation Workshop, with over 30 employees and their children participating in the event. While learning about the principles of the circular economy, our employees unleashed their creativity by transforming some of our toys into new art crafts.
Community Cleanup
As part of our environmental protection efforts, in June 2023, members of the Hape China team volunteered to clean up the beautiful water reservoir that is located near their offices. From plastic bottles to cigarette butts, and plastic bags to fishing nets, they removed all the litter that they could find - and in two hours the team had collected a whopping 15 bags of garbage.
Supporting Children with Special Needs and Their Families
We believe that every child has the right to play and have fun, and we are committed to meeting the needs of children through our global charity programs. Since 2016, our “We Care We Share” global charity program has partnered with more than ten autism rehabilitation centres and special education schools in China, donating thousands of toys to children with disabilities, helping them to reach their full potential through the power of play.
In an effort to further help families of children with special needs in our community, during March, April and May, the Hape China team volunteered to organise a series of activities and funded professional counselling to five families who have a child on the autism spectrum.
On March 29th, 11 volunteers from the Hape China team hosted a play activity for 13 children with autism at the ChenXi Education and Training School in Beilun District.
At the end of March, members of our Hape China team partnered with the local charity Int. Rotary Club to host a toy event at the BeiBei Children’s Rehabilitation and Education Centre in Hangzhou, a service that specialises in treating children with severe disabilities. Hape employees volunteered their time in order to host a colouring activity, where children created beautiful artworks and received wonderful toy gifts as a reward for their hard work.
Then on April 26th, the Hape China team together with the ChenXi Education and Training School in Beilun District, hosted a fun camping activity for families of autistic children. Our play activities were designed to promote engagement between the parents and children, and they created many unforgettable bonding moments for the attending families.
On May 12th meanwhile, the Hape China team invited Ms. Sima Chaofang, a family therapist, to provide free counselling to five families of children with autism. Parenting can be incredibly rewarding but also incredibly challenging - yet caring for a child on the autism spectrum can be even more demanding, due to its unique caregiving challenges. As a result, parents of children with autism spectrum disorder tend to have more stress and anxiety when compared to those of typically developing children. Counselling offers a safe space for parents to express their concerns and helps them to make better sense of difficult situations, equipping them with useful coping methods and tools.
Oftentimes, helping the parent is helping the child, and giving them the right tools to create a nurturing and supportive home environment is key.
Learn to Play & Play to Learn – Hape-Huji Employee Volunteer Program
During June, 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, two of our Hape China team members spent 14-days at two of our 20 Kindergartens, where they volunteered their time and assisted teachers with classroom routines and daily activities, helped to organise parent-child activities, created 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 team, our employees also built outdoor toys from recycled materials for the kids to enjoy and treasure.
Senior Toy Experience Workshop
Toys aren’t just for kids, and at Hape we believe in the benefits of play across all ages - and are committed to helping improve the quality of life for seniors via the power of play. That’s why we are proud to announce our continued cooperation with the Beilun Senior Care Association in 2023. During January and June, members of the Hape China team volunteered to organise two senior toy experience workshops, creating game activities that encouraged laughter, stimulated conversations and promoted social bonding among the attending 40 seniors from the community.
And, moreover, as promoting health for the elderly is a top priority, each of our workshops also offered a free health checkup to all the seniors.
Donating Toys to Yicang Digital Charity Platforms to Support Families in Need
Partners since 2021, Hape China has donated countless toys to “YiCang” - a Chinese digital charity platform that helps to distribute toys for free to families who cannot afford to buy gifts for their children. During May and June, Hape donated another 32.262,00euros worth of toys to YiCang, bringing love, play and learning to children and families in need.
