Care for Our People Story
Bringing Families Together: Hallmark Helps Bring Migrant Workers Closer to Their Children
As a company committed to creating a more emotionally connected world, Hallmark helped bring more families together in 2019 through the Family Friendly Spaces (FFS) program. Many migrant workers in China leave their families in their hometowns to work in manufacturing facilities in other cities. In many cases, the workers may only see their families once a year during the long Lunar New Year holiday. Family Friendly Spaces, a program of The Center for Child Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility (CCR CSR) and supported by ICTI Ethical Toy Program (IETP), brings the workers and their children together at the factories during the summer school break so they can spend more time together.
“Many workers feel guilty for not seeing their children more and worry constantly about their families,” said Salina Tsang, the responsible sourcing & supply chain CSR manager in Hallmark’s Hong Kong buying office. “This program allows families to be together during the summer, leading to happier employees who feel more loyal to their workplace because they are supported.”
Hallmark joined the program in 2018 with four supplier partners participating. In 2019, that number doubled with eight Hallmark and Crayola suppliers participating bringing more than 300 children closer to their parents. The factories create a dedicated and safe space for the children to be while their parents are working and, in some cases, a place where they can live together and share meals. While children were there, Hallmark and Crayola provided enrichment activities including Hallmark artist-led art classes, Crayola’s Art Infused Education videos to teach children how to create works of art using Crayola products, tree planting to teach the importance of sustainability, and custom-made greeting cards for the children to give to their parents to express gratitude.
“We are very proud of how much this program has grown among our suppliers in just one year,” said Tsang. “Caring for our people, including the workers at our factories in China, is so important to us. Knowing these workers get to take this time to connect with their children and strengthen their relationship makes the work we put in to make the program a success worth it.”
This program also makes the factories more attractive to prospective workers, thus helping the factories recruit better workers.♦
