— 2020 —
Since our company’s start in 1910, Hallmark has believed our people are our greatest asset. Creating equitable and inclusive workplaces where all employees feel like they can bring their authentic, whole selves to work has always been one of our top priorities.
2020 was an unprecedented year that posed new challenges for all companies around the world. Many employees shifted to working remotely due to the pandemic, needing to find innovative ways to stay engaged and connected to their colleagues. It was important for Hallmark to support our employees during a time of great uncertainty by giving them the tools they needed to work and the flexibility they needed to manage their lives.
Equally important was the need for Hallmark to support employees by standing up for equality and justice. Although Hallmark’s commitment to diversity and inclusion is inherently embedded in our company’s vision — to create a more emotionally connected world by making a genuine difference in every life, every day — the events of 2020 issued a clear and resounding call. We have answered that call by taking steps to elevate our work with renewed energy, focus and accountability.
“Hallmark considers an investment in D&I to be an investment in our company’s future as data proves companies prioritizing D&I experience better business outcomes,” said Kristen Harris, Hallmark’s vice president of diversity and inclusion. “The leaders of our businesses recognize the opportunity and responsibility we have to elevate our visible commitment to this work across all of our brand’s touchpoints.”
This is meaningful yet challenging work, but also Hallmark’s reason for being. Few companies in the world can claim such a privilege — we are proud to be one of them.
Download THE 2020 CSR Facts + Figures
Offering Employees HOPE
UN SDGs + Hallmark CSR Goals:
Sustainable Cities + Communities / Family + Kids
After the pandemic upended so many lives, Hallmark employees stepped up to provide temporary relief to their colleagues and friends who had been financially hurt. The HOPE Fund provided small grants to employees who qualified. Funded by donations from employees and leaders, the HOPE Fund launched in May 2020.
“Hallmark employees are at the heart of our caring company and they embody the spirit of giving,” said Amy Winterscheidt, Hallmark’s community involvement director, who facilitated the HOPE Fund. “When we began to see the financial impact this pandemic had on people, many Hallmarkers reached out asking what they could do to help their colleagues and friends. After careful research, we developed the HOPE Fund as a way they could give to those who needed it the most.”
From May through August 2020, the HOPE Fund provided more than 550 grants to employees at Hallmark headquarters and Crown Center, as well as the Hallmark plants in Lawrence and Leavenworth, Kan.; Liberty, Mo.; and Metamora, Ill.♦
Celebrating Lunar New Year with Manufacturing Partners
UN SDGs + Hallmark CSR Goals:
Family + Kids
To mark Lunar New Year in 2020, Hallmark continued a tradition set forth the year before by printing cards for those who help us make cards. Hallmark printed more than 2,000 Lunar New Year cards and gave them to workers at QP Printing, a supplier with facilities in China and Vietnam. The cards were printed with respective Chinese and Vietnamese sentiments for the employees in both countries as a way to show gratitude for their work.
Protecting Those Who Are Most Vulnerable
UN SDGs + Hallmark CSR Goals:
Family + Kids
In an effort to protect against forced and child labor, Hallmark implemented a Conflict Minerals Policy in 2020. Known conflict minerals include gold, tantalum, tungsten and tin. These minerals are more likely than others to be mined using unacceptable labor practices.
Affirming the Rights and Contributions of LGBTQ+ Employees Across the Hallmark Enterprise
UN SDGs + Hallmark CSR Goals:
Family + Kids
Pride Month 2020 was met with a pandemic, a recession and social unrest. But it was also met with an opportunity for Hallmark’s three brands – Hallmark, Crayola and Hallmark Media – to come together and collectively affirm and lift up all LGBTQ+ employees across our businesses. It was important to not only see Pride Month as a time to celebrate, but also to acknowledge the ongoing fight for civil rights. The centerpiece of the month was a panel discussion featuring stories and insights from members of our Hallmark Media family.
Hallmark Brings Families Closer Together at Manufacturing Plants in Asia
UN SDGs + Hallmark CSR Goals:
Family + Kids
At manufacturing plants in Asia that produce Hallmark and Crayola products, many employees spend part of the year away from their families. Migrant Parent Training (MPT), a program of The Centre for Child Rights and Business (The Centre) supported by the ICTI Ethical Toy Program (IETP), teaches parents who are away from their children how to cope with their stress and how to manage their time so they can spend more of it connecting with their kids.
MPT is an extension of Family Friendly Spaces (FFS) which brings the children of migrant employees to the plants for the summer. Due to the pandemic in 2020, fewer children were able to travel to the plants to participate in the program, making the need for MPT even higher. In 2020, two suppliers for Hallmark and one for Crayola took part in an online course with 95 parents participating. Sixty parents at two other suppliers, one Hallmark and the other Crayola, took the course on-site.♦
Hallmark Artists Bring Cards to Life with Sidewalk Chalk
UN SDGs + Hallmark CSR Goals:
Art + Culture
When communities went into lockdown in the early days of the pandemic in 2020, Hallmark artists sought ways to channel their creativity, put more positivity into the world and express gratitude for those who went above and beyond to support others during a difficult time. More than a dozen Hallmark artists turned to Crayola sidewalk chalk to bring cards to life by covering their driveways and sidewalks with colorful designs and inspirational messages. Link to news story.♦
Hallmark Media and Hallmark Name New Women Leaders
UN SDGs + Hallmark CSR Goals:
Gender Equality
The Summer of 2020 brought two experienced women to leadership positions at Hallmark Media and Hallmark. Kristen Harris, a longtime member of Hallmark’s leadership team in operations, distribution and customer development, was named vice president of diversity and inclusion at Hallmark. Wonya Lucas, an experienced executive in media and entertainment, brand management and product development, was named president and CEO of Hallmark Media.
Employees Share Culture Through Story Time
UN SDGs + Hallmark CSR Goals:
Art + Culture
Hallmark’s employee resource groups (ERGs) launched Story Time in 2020 to enable a sense of connectedness among employees while working remotely. Each Story Time featured a different children’s book with stories of love, adventure, hope and discovery that helped increase our understanding and appreciation for different cultures, traditions, customs and practices while promoting inclusion in our workplace. The ERGs would select a book and an ERG member would read the book aloud on camera virtually, with a corresponding PowerPoint presentation so viewers could follow along and see the pictures in the book.
A few of the books that were read during the many Story Times held in 2020 include:
The Youngest Marcher, written by Cynthia Levinson, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
We are Water Protectors, written by Carole Lindstrom, illustrated by Michaela Goade
Diwali (Celebrate the World), written by Hannah Eliot, illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan ♦
Family Friendly Spaces Brings Families Together in Asia
UN SDGs + Hallmark CSR Goals:
Family + Children
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.
Hallmark Hosts First Enterprise-Wide Diversity & Inclusion Summit
UN SDGs + Hallmark CSR Goals:
Gender Equality
Hallmark’s commitment to D&I has always been inherently embedded in our company’s mission, but over the course of 2020, we took steps the elevate our work with renewed energy, focus and accountability. One of the ways we did this was by hosting our first Diversity and Inclusion Virtual Summit that included speakers from Hallmark Global, Crayola and Hallmark Media. The purpose of the summit was to share with employees the ongoing actions the businesses were taking together to continually cultivate diversity and inclusion and for leaders to share what they were doing collectively to align with the D&I framework.
Hallmark Brought Local Artistry to National Stage Through Virtual Hallmarket Art Festival
UN SDGs + Hallmark CSR Goals:
Arts + Culture
For the first time ever, Hallmark hosted Hallmarket virtually in 2020, giving people all over the world access to handmade, handcrafted artwork from more than 70 Hallmark, Crayola and Hallmark Media employees and retirees. The artwork was offered in a variety of formats including paintings, prints, photography, home décor, jewelry and much more.
Hallmark Helps to Empower Women in the Workplace
UN SDGs + Hallmark CSR Goals:
Gender Equality
Hallmark continues to expand its participation Business for Social Responsibility’s (BSR) HERproject™ by launching the project at a Hallmark and Crayola supplier in China. This is the third supplier that has participated in this program, which empowers women working in global supply chains to learn about their health, financial inclusion and gender equality.
“We were also pleased that, because of the location of the supplier’s manufacturing facility, one of our product integrity employees was able to participate in the training, as well,” said Hing Hung, product integrity manager at Hallmark’s Hong Kong office. “The HERproject not only empowers women in the workplace, it also builds their confidence and presentation skills because the women take what they learn and educate their colleagues, families and communities.”
Since launching HERproject in 2018, Hallmark has helped empower 65 women—and through their continued teaching, nearly 1,000 women have benefited from this program.
Corporate Social Responsibility and UN Sustainable Development Goals
Hallmark currently aligns to 5 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). in addition to key goals unique to our corporate culture. Please use the legend below in reference to goals tied to initiatives throughout our CSR Report.
Facts + Figures (2020 Outcomes)
