Helping to Create a World Where Children Can Play Freely (Japan - Pigeon)

Pigeon Corporation launched its corporate-led volunteer program, in which employees can participate by taking volunteer leave, in July 2021. In December 2021, we held our third corporate-led volunteer activity: a toy-making session to create donations for the Japanese Toy Library Network.

About the activities

Seven employees took volunteer leave and participated. After a brief introduction to deepen everyone’s understanding of Pigeon’s corporate-led volunteer program and how a toy library operates, we began making toys.
Two kinds of toys were chosen, based on discussions with the Japanese Toy Library Network about what is most in demand: cloth dice and flappy butterfly craft kits.

Cloth dice

Cloth toys help toy libraries create a warm, welcoming atmosphere. For this activity, we made two kinds: regular dice with a different number of dots on each face, and special dice with pictures of animal faces that go together like puzzle pieces. Both kinds of dice have bells inside, so that children can enjoy the sound, too.

Flappy butterfly craft kits

With these craft kits, children can make their own “flappy butterflies”—toys that flap their wings when the central rod is pressed from above. Preparing the kits involved cutting the materials down to size and packing them into individual bags.
The kits also include round stickers of different sizes for each child to apply as they like, creating their own unique butterfly.

Comments from participating employees included:
・“I felt for myself there are many different approaches to volunteering, and that some are right for me.”
・“I understood that you can make a contribution with something small and accessible—it doesn’t have to be extra-special.”
・“I wanted to do a good deed for someone as a volunteer, and I think this was a good experience for me.”

The toys made during the activity will be distributed to toy libraries across Japan through the Japanese Toy Library Network. All participating employees are looking forward to the day the toys reach the children who will play with them.

We will continue to engage in this activity to help create a world where children can play freely.