NORTHBROOK, Ill., Oct. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 1,400 Astellas employees are banding together today from their homes to help local communities in need as part of the company's 11th annual Changing Tomorrow Day. The company's annual day of service was adjusted from in-person to virtual volunteerism activities, providing employees the opportunity to give back with safe social distancing.

"The needs of our community have grown significantly due to the pandemic and support is needed more urgently than ever. I am so proud of the hundreds of Astellas employees who will spend 6,000 hours volunteering virtually to support veterans, cancer patients, individuals with disabilities and others in Chicago, IL and Washington, DC,"  said Percival Barretto-Ko, president, Astellas US. "Since the start of our annual Changing Tomorrow Day in 2009, Astellas employees have collectively contributed more than 86,000 hours of volunteer time to area organizations."

Virtual activities includeⁱ:

• Assembling comfort and convenience gift bags as well as hand-written thank you notes for homeless and hospitalized veterans at VA hospitals to help honor these men and women who have served our country.
• Packing bags to show appreciation for frontline workers in hospitals with items to help provide comfort after a long day of work.
• Creating "Cards of Hope" for Phil's Friends, in Roselle, Ill., to distribute to area cancer patients for encouragement and support.
• Making no-sew face masks to donate to with individuals with disabilities served by Clearbrook and Lambs Farm, both in Northern Ill.

Changing Tomorrow Day is a series of company-sponsored volunteer events for Astellas employees to donate their time to local non-profit organizations helping to build a brighter future for patients, people, communities, and partners. In addition, Astellas' ongoing commitment to the community includes responding to the public health challenges posed by COVID-19 through Astellas and the Astellas Global Health Foundation, and steadfast engagement in supporting efforts for racial justice and equality. Astellas' combined and continuous commitment reflects the high value the company places on meaningful action intended to support local and global communities, while also and contributing to the safety and well-being of employees, healthcare professionals and partners.

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. For more information on Astellas, please visit our website at www.astellas.com/us. You can also follow us on Twitter at @AstellasUS, Facebook at www.facebook.com/AstellasUS or LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/astellas-pharma-us.  

ⁱ Astellas' Changing Tomorrow Day partner provided the gift bag contents and selected the recipient hospitals.

SOURCE Astellas Pharma Inc.