Celebrating a ‘Global Day of Joy’
Hasbro delivers with toys, smiles
PAWTUCKET — Children from Nathanael Greene Elementary School on Thursday morning received a tour that Hasbro officials described as visiting the perfect combination of Santa Claus' North Pole workshop and Willy Wonka's whimsical chocolate factory.
As part of the toy company's fifth annual “Global Day of Joy” to benefit children in need, the elementary-aged tots were bused to Hasbro's Newport Avenue headquarters where they received a look behind the scenes to learn how their favorite toys and brands are brought to life.
Hasbro's Pawtucket headquarters on Thursday morning were transformed into a scene out of Santa's workshop, with hundreds of employees, many dressed as elves, wrapping and bagging toys to be distributed. Children in Pawtucket, Central Falls, and Providence were among the 20,000 who received a toy or game, which were delivered to area public elementary schools by Hasbro employees.
Hasbro Chairman and CEO Brian Goldner earlier in the day was at Flora S. Curtis Elementary School in Pawtucket, along with a team of employees, to donate a bag full of toys and games to children.
Goldner and the team “walked in the door and all the kids said 'Hasbro is here!' It just makes you feel amazing.”
“They're all smiling and we're giving them toys and we're talking about our ' Be Fearless Be Kind' campaign and helping kids understand that they can be kind to each other as part of the season and learn how to do that every day,” Goldner said. “It's wonderful to be able to do that all over the world. We're literally doing programs for 100,000 kids today around the world and we'll give away a half a million toys.”
“It's amazing, it's what we do,” he continued. “Our mission as a company is to improve the lives, better the lives of children and their families, and so what a better way to have an impact is to all come out during the season, during our most important time of the year, and take a day off to remind everybody of how important this is.”
On Thursday, 250 volunteer projects took place, with 94 percent of Hasbro's global employees participating. The 25,000 volunteer hours on Thursday alone equaled nearly three years of service. Over the five years of the Global Day of Joy, Hasbro employees have volunteered over 101,400 hours to 950 service projects, impacting the lives of 465,000 children in 40 countries.
Kevin Colman, Hasbro's “Head Elf” and manager of global philanthropy, said that the Day of Joy was “an incredible day for the company … It's incredible, really, we feel blessed to run a program like this on this day. It's truly incredible to know the company wants to make a dif- ference.”
“We're so excited to see that real reaction when we pass out toys,” Colman said. “It's a fun job and we really look forward to this day … Many company employees say it's their favorite day of the year.”
Laysha Elena Martinez, a fifth-grader at Central Falls’ Veterans Memorial Elementary School, joined Central Falls School Superintendent Victor Capellan to lead Hasbro employees in kicking off the Global Day of Joy from the Pawtucket headquarters, reciting the company's “Be Fearless Be Kind” pledge, which seeks to empower children to have the empathy, compassion and courage to stand up for others and be inclusive throughout their lives. The students from Greene Elementary who toured Hasbro on Thursday morning received perhaps the best gift of all, as they had the opportunity to learn how the toys and games that they play are made.
After a brief stop to play with some of their favorite classic Hasbro toys – from Jenga to Play-Doh – the youths went behind the scenes at Hasbro, with their first stop at a presentation on the “Be Fearless Be Kind” pledge.
Students then traveled to the section of Hasbro known as the “Cake Mix” studios, where they learned about green-screen technology and how their favorite characters are brought to life on television and in movies. A lucky few were interviewed on the green screen, which was transformed into a winter wonderland scene full of snow and candy canes, while a handful of others had their faces tracked and transferred onto the screen to become a character in the popular “Hanazuki” animated web series.
Also on the tour, they visited Hasbro's model shop, where designers shared insights into their creations.
Inside the “North Pole,” where employees wrapped toys to be delivered to elementary school students around the area, a large “Command Center” tracked the company's worldwide service projects and random acts of kindness – from showing appreciation to a veteran to leaving a thank-you note on a colleague's desk. A live tally and global “heat map” tracked the acts of kindness from Asia into Europe and across the Atlantic Ocean into the States.
“When we hosted our first Global Day of Joy five years ago, we couldn't have imagined how impactful and how meaningful this would become,” Goldner said. “Our employees rally together, rolling up our sleeves to make a real difference for children around the world. It's a day that we look forward to all year round, and it has become how Hasbro celebrates the holiday season.”