Astellas employees from Astellas Farma Brasil took a day to volunteer at “Festa Junina” (Fall Festival), a charity fundraising event organized by Grupo da Fraternidade Emmanuel, a local shelter that supports children and youth ages 7-17.

“We volunteered and contributed in different ways, including donating food for the celebration, helping at the event and collecting items to be auctioned,” said Alessandra Cabral, bidding analyst with Astellas Farma Brasil.

More than 250 people from the community and volunteers participated in the event, which offered games and refreshments.

“It was exciting to see the joy and satisfaction of the children with the structure, decoration and all efforts that were put in place to make the event happen,” said Alessandra.

Through the activities, the organization was able to raise R$ 8.750,00 (the equivalent of more than $2,800 USD) to support the organization’s future initiatives. In addition, the organization used the food not sold during the event to feed the shelter’s children.

“We appreciate all the help provided from Astellas and its volunteers,” said Mr. Manuel founder of Grupo da Fraternidade Emmanuel. “We would not be able to realize an event like this without their contributions.”

At the end of the event, all of the organizers, volunteers and guests took part in a typical Brazilian dance, which provided an exciting close to the evening. 

Grupo da Fraternidade Emmanuel is a nonprofit organization founded officially in 1981 in the city of São Paulo. The focus of the organization is to shelter children and youth who are socially vulnerable and to offer service to the local community to evolve family relations and provide support. To date, the institution shelters around 17 people ages 7-17. 

Living SMART™ is the Astellas approach to preparing communities today for what can happen tomorrow. The Living SMART framework brings together the strength of the charitable Astellas USA Foundation and our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) work to find the areas where we can make the most impact to improve lives. Astellas USA Foundation and Astellas CSR collaborate to create a positive impact on society through three overarching focus areas: health and well-being; Science WoRx (STEM education); and disaster response. To read more about Living SMART, see the Astellas Americas Corporate Social Responsibility Report Card.