LAS VEGAS – June 27, 2016 – Approximately 1,200 Astellas employees attending the international pharmaceutical company’s National Sales Forum in Las Vegas, Nev., recently took time out of their busy meeting schedule to volunteer their time to benefit four different charities in Southern Nevada.  The events kicked off Astellas’ annual day of service, Changing Tomorrow Day, where Astellas offices around the globe participate in planned volunteer activities in their local communities throughout the year.

Among the organizations served:

St. Jude’s Ranch for Children: 300 Astellas employees assembled 50 toys, 30 bicycles and assembled and decorated 10 toy boxes filled with gifts from each child’s wish list. More than a dozen St. Jude’s children were thrilled to arrive at the meeting and see the surprise end result.

Boys and Girls Club of Southern Nevada: 300 Astellas employees assembled 50 bikes for children and 20 pieces of furniture for the 14 Southern Nevada clubs.  Eleven Boys and Girls Club children were excited to arrive at the meeting and see the surprise finished product.

Clark County School District: 300 Astellas employees assembled schools supplies, including 360 school backpacks, 240 teacher kits and 150 solar car kits.  Employees painted six murals onsite at the Mandalay Bay to be later displayed in the schools’ hallways.

Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation (NCCF): 300 Astellas employees packaged 200 summer swag bags for NCCF’s Camp Cartwheel attendees, 300 story time kits and 240 family care packages.

“Camp Cartwheel is such a special time for the children we serve and we could not do it without the charitable support of organizations like Astellas.” said Jeff Gordon, NCCF President & CEO, Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation. “Because of Astellas, over 200 critically ill children and their siblings will arrive at camp with a fully loaded swag bag of goodies essential to the camp experience in conjunction with story time kits and family care packages. It is wonderful tokens such as these that help to ease the burden so many face when diagnosed with a life-threatening illness and bring smiles to lots of tiny faces.”

Additionally, the company held its inaugural “One Astellas Spirit Run,” a 2.5K race where more than 500 employees headed down the Las Vegas strip to benefit seven charities: National Alliance on Mental Illness, Tyler Clementi Foundation, Dress for Success Southern Nevada, Fisher House Foundation, Hispanic Scholarship Fund, ZERO–The End of Prostate Cancer and Ellen Meadows Prosthetic Hand Foundation.  Astellas and its employees (both attending the event and across the U.S.) raised a total of $66,000 for the seven charities.

“It was truly inspirational to see cheerful employees so early in the morning ready to participate in the record heat in support of the organizations that were chosen by our seven employee resource groups.” said Jeff Winton, senior vice president, Corporate Affairs and Chief Communications Officer. “It’s a great example of our dedication to support the community and raise awareness for very important causes.”

At Astellas, we envision a world where communities of all kinds have the means they need to live smart today and every day.  By contributing to these great organizations—whether in-kind or financially, our employees are supporting our shared vision to meet the unique needs of underserved communities with resources to face the future with confidence.

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, Facebook at www.facebook.com/AstellasUS or LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/astellas-pharma.