At Hallmark, community involvement begins with our hometowns. These include Kansas City, Mo., our corporate headquarters city, as well as locations where we operate production and distribution facilities: Liberty, Mo.; Lawrence, Leavenworth and Topeka, Kan.; Enfield, Conn.; Metamora, Ill.; Columbus, Ga.; and Center, Texas.
In keeping with our belief that basic human service infrastructure is crucial to healthy communities, we are strong supporters of United Way, with combined employee and corporate contributions consistently placing Hallmark at or near the top of the list of United Way donors in nearly every community we call home. Through employee volunteerism and local-level funding decisions, we support causes such as humane societies, food pantries, domestic violence shelters, libraries, and youth programs.
Most of Hallmark's civic initiatives occur in and around Kansas City, and many of our activities are behind the scenes. Grants are made to dozens of organizations serving children and families, arts and culture, education and urban neighborhoods. Our executives and many other employees serve on nonprofit boards and lead key civic projects, and our government affairs group works toward public policy initiatives that support healthy communities locally and regionally.
Hallmark's civic presence in Kansas City also is visible in two unique projects: Crown Center, an urban redevelopment that adjoins Hallmark's corporate offices, and Kaleidoscope, a creative experience for children.
Crown Center is an 85-acre community of offices, hotels, residential units, and shopping and entertainment facilities conceived by J.C. Hall and his son, Donald J. Hall, to replace decades of blight. Today it attracts millions of people to the heart of the city each year and has been a catalyst for ongoing redevelopment of Kansas City's urban core.
Don Hall also was the inspiration behind the development of Kaleidoscope, a place where creativity is nurtured for children and their families. Not only has Kaleidoscope inspired nearly every school-age child in the region since its opening in 1969 – it also has made productive and creative use of scraps from Hallmark's manufacturing operations.