Hasbro Employees Worldwide Make the Holidays Brighter for Thousands of Children in Need through First-Ever Global Day of Joy

USA - English

• USA - español
• Latin America - español
• Brazil - Português
• India - English

PAWTUCKET, R.I., Dec. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- On Friday, global branded play company Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) helped spread joy to thousands of underserved children in 35 countries through its first-ever Global Day of Joy. The initiative empowered Hasbro's 5,000 employees worldwide to become holiday "elves" and to immerse themselves in community service projects designed to bring joy over the holidays to children in need.

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From its global headquarters in Rhode Island to its offices across Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific – employees wearing Team Hasbro shirts in 17 different languages fanned out in their respective communities to make a difference through the power of group volunteerism.

"Hasbro's commitment to helping children where we live and work began with our founders more than 90 years ago and continues with our inaugural Global Day of Joy," said Brian Goldner, president and CEO, Hasbro, Inc. "With the help of our many charitable partners, this initiative provided our talented team of employees with a glimpse into the incredible impact that can be made for children in need across the globe when we work together."

Armed with toys, games, paintbrushes and more, Team Hasbro employees volunteered with more than 100 charitable organizations worldwide, many of which the company works closely with during the year through its philanthropic programs.

Examples of the different types of service projects that took place on Hasbro's Global Day of Joy include:

• a special celebration for children in Colombia who have received life changing cleft palate procedures from Operation Smile, featuring a contest that teamed Hasbro employees with the children to "create" their greatest smile using Play-Doh
• working with SOS Children's Villages in five countries to transform outdated play areas, host special Game Day events and deliver toys and games to the orphaned children who live there, including those in Russia, Peru and Austria
• assembly & packaging of more than 136,000 meals that were delivered to 25 food pantries and schools across Rhode Island in partnership with Outreach Inc., a U.S. based hunger relief organization
• the delivery of tens of thousands of toys and games to charitable organizations across the globe

"Despite this being one of the busiest times of the year for so many in our company, the response from our employees has been overwhelmingly positive," added Karen Davis, Hasbro's vice president of community relations. "This speaks not only to Hasbro's general culture of service, but also the passion each of our employees has for creating positive change and bringing joy to children."

While Hasbro's Global Day of Joy is an exciting new initiative that concentrates the impact of its employees' volunteer work, the company's charitable work extends throughout the year. Hasbro's philanthropic programs focus on empowering childhood by bringing "the sparkle of Hope, the joy of Play and the power of Service" into their lives of children in need. The Team Hasbro employee volunteer program gives employees four hours of paid time off per month to volunteer with child-focused organizations in the communities where they live and work. During the 2013 holiday season alone, Hasbro expects to donate more than $3 million worth of toys and games to children and approximately $15 million in total philanthropic support worldwide.

Recently, Hasbro was recognized by The Civic 50 for the second consecutive year as one of the country's most community-minded companies, ranking in the top five in both the "Best in Consumer Discretionary" and "Best in Mid-Cap Market" categories. Conducted by the nation's leading experts on civic engagement, The National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC) and Points of Light, in partnership with Bloomberg News, The Civic 50 is an annual initiative that identifies and recognizes companies for their commitment to improve the quality of life in the communities where they do business.

To learn more about Hasbro's philanthropic programs worldwide, please see the company's recent Corporate Philanthropy Report.

About Hasbro, Inc.
Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) is a branded play company dedicated to fulfilling the fundamental need for play for children and families through the creative expression of the Company's world class brand portfolio, including TRANSFORMERS, MONOPOLY, PLAY-DOH, MY LITTLE PONY, MAGIC: THE GATHERING, NERF and LITTLEST PET SHOP. From toys and games, to television programming, motion pictures, digital gaming and a comprehensive licensing program, Hasbro strives to delight its global customers with innovative play and entertainment experiences, in a variety of forms and formats, anytime and anywhere. The Company's Hasbro Studios develops and produces television programming for more than 170 markets around the world, and for the U.S. on Hub Network, part of a multi-platform joint venture between Hasbro and Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK). Through the company's deep commitment to corporate social responsibility, including philanthropy, Hasbro is helping to build a safe and sustainable world for future generations and to positively impact the lives of millions of children and families every year. It has been recognized for its efforts by being named one of "America's Most Community Minded Companies" by Bloomberg News and is ranked as one of Corporate Responsibility Magazine's "100 Best Corporate Citizens." Learn more at www.hasbro.com.

SOURCE Hasbro, Inc.