Northbrook, IL, March 25, 2015 –Astellas (www.astellas.us) has become a national corporate partner of The Trevor Project (www.thetrevorproject.org) to help advance the shared mission of ending suicide among gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) young adults. According to the Centers for Disease Control, LGBTQ youth are three to four times more likely to attempt suicide as their straight peers.[1]

Astellas recently launched a series of Employee Resource Groups (ERG) to support the diverse interests of its employees and their family members. Together As One (TAO), Astellas’ LGBTQ ERG, launched the partnership with The Trevor Project, which includes ways for Astellas employees to volunteer and get involved in providing support for at-risk youth in the LGBTQ community.

A leader and innovator in suicide prevention, The Trevor Project offers the largest safe social networking community for LGBTQ youth, best practice suicide prevention trainings, resources for youths and adults and advocacy initiatives.

“Being a teenager is hard; being a teenager while dealing with sexual identity or gender acceptance issues can be especially traumatic. That’s why we have partnered with The Trevor Project to provide financial and volunteer support to further the mission of ending suicide among the LGBTQ community,” said Linda Friedman, senior vice president, general counsel and the executive sponsor of TAO ERG. “Astellas takes workplace equality seriously and is committed to promoting an inclusive and supportive culture.”

“Every year, The Trevor Project supports more than 100,000 young people nationwide. Still, for every person who reaches out to Trevor’s programs for help, we know that there are many more who are struggling. That’s why The Trevor Project is so grateful to partners like Astellas for their invaluable support. Together, we share a mutual goal – to end suicide among LGBTQ youth while supporting their wellbeing – and we can’t accomplish that mission without building new partnerships that further strengthen our ability to provide life-saving help. We are excited to see where our new collaboration with Astellas takes us,” said Abbe Land, executive director & CEO of The Trevor Project.

In 2014, Astellas received a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) annual Corporate Equality Index (CEI). The CEI is a national benchmarking tool used to rate companies on policies and practices concerning lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employee equality. The survey rates business practices on a 100-point scale and assesses six core areas: human resources, diversity, staffing, counsel/legal, marketing/communications and corporate giving/foundation relations.

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.us. You can also follow us on Twitter at @AstellasUS.

The Trevor Project

Founded in 1998 by the creators of the Academy Award®-winning short film TREVOR, The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) young people ages 13-24. Every day, The Trevor Project saves young lives through its accredited, free and confidential phone, instant message and text messaging crisis intervention services. A leader and innovator in suicide prevention, The Trevor Project offers the largest safe social networking community for LGBTQ youth, best practice suicide prevention trainings, resources for youth and adults, and advocacy initiatives. Learn more at TheTrevorProject.org.

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