Family Friendly Spaces Brings Families Together in Asia
Even during a pandemic, Hallmark was able to bring nearly 170 children to manufacturing facilities in Asia to be closer to their parents through Family Friendly Spaces (FFS), a program initiated by The Centre for Child Rights and Business and supported by ICTI Ethical Toy Program. In Asia, many migrant workers will leave their children in their hometowns while they leave to work in a factory. The FFS program reunites these workers with their children by creating safe, secure and well-equipped spaces in factories for children to learn and play during the school break. This program benefits the workers who get to spend more time with their kids.
Due to the pandemic, only five suppliers that Hallmark works with were able to participate in the program, bringing 167 children closer to their parents. While the program looked a little different, children were still able to participate in tree-planting activities and learn about sustainability, design custom cards for their parents and, at two suppliers, learn in Crayola Arts-Infused Education classrooms. Hallmark also provided gifts to all the children, as well as those who were in the program in 2019, even if the supplier could not participate in 2020.
Hallmark joined the FFS program in 2018 when only four suppliers participated. In 2019, the number doubled to eight suppliers. Our hope is to see more suppliers join in the future.♦