Employee Volunteer
ITOCHU strives to heighten employees’ awareness of volunteer activities. In one such effort we have a system that lets employees take three days (short period) of annual volunteer leave and volunteer programs in which they can participate.
Activities of Overseas and Domestic Offices
ITOCHU employees are engaged in community contribution activities at ITOCHU offices around the world.
WFP Walk the World
We participate annually in World Food Programme’s campaign to eradicate child hunger in the world.
ITOCHU Baseball Class
Children with disabilities enjoy baseball classes with our employees.
Blood Drives by the Japanese Red Cross Society
Blood drives are held twice a year at Tokyo Headquarters.
Support for the Great East Japan Earthquake
Immediately after the earthquake, employees volunteered for various activities.
Sales of Bread from Swan Bakery
Bread from Swan Bakery, which employs people with disabilities, has been sold weekly in the employee cafeteria at Tokyo Headquarters since 2008.
WFP Walk the World (every May)
With the hope of alleviating hunger and poverty worldwide, we have been serving as a supporter of the Japan Association for the World Food Programme. This is a nonprofit organization that focuses on building support in Japan for the World Food Programme (WFP) - the only United Nations organization to provide food support. Many employees participate in the “WFP Walk the World” campaign to eradicate child hunger in developing countries every year. This event is a charity walk in which a portion of the participation fee is donated to the WFP’s school lunch program in developing countries, and is held in Yokohama, Osaka, and Nagoya. A total of 182 employees and their families from ITOCHU participated in the event, including CAO Mr. Kobayashi, who serves as a board member of the association, and Food Company President Mr. Miyamoto, who serves as an advisor.
ITOCHU Baseball Class at Jingu Stadium (every February)
Since 2007, ITOCHU has continued this activity in which children with disabilities enjoy playing baseball together with ITOCHU employees, with the aim of practicing “barrier-free mindset” and “nurturing future generation”. Volunteer employees from the ITOCHU Group’s baseball club and others paired up with the children and enjoyed playing catch and hitting balls. About 250 people in total participated, including children and their families, as well as more than 100 volunteer employees from 21 ITOCHU Group companies, and the employees also received a lot of energy from the children.
Blood Drives by the Japanese Red Cross Society
The Japanese Red Cross Society has run blood drives at the Tokyo Headquarters since 1999. Today, precious donated blood is not only used during surgeries but also widely utilized in the treatment of illnesses such as leukemia, making blood donations even more important. While there are cases where people are unable to give blood due to their physical condition on the day, an overseas stay or local regulations, each time many employees including those from Group companies head to the venue to do their part.
Active Blood Donation Activities in the COVID-19 Pandemic
In FYE 2021, the amount of blood collected for transfusions dropped significantly in Japan because the COVID-19 pandemic led to government requests to avoid going outdoors and due to the cancellation of blood donation events. This was a serious problem. To help address this problem for the public, ITOCHU Corporation ran blood drives at the Tokyo Headquarters as well as branches and offices. They were carefully organized, with arrangements including ventilation, sanitation, and social distancing. A total of 279 employees assisted.
In December 2020, we received the Tokyo Red Cross Blood Donation Center Director Award from the Japanese Red Cross Society for our proactive blood drives in the COVID-19 pandemic.
In November 2021, our many years of meritorious service in blood drives since 1999, as well as our contributions of blood during the pandemic, were recognized when we were chosen to receive a certificate of appreciation from the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare.
In June 2022, we donated eight signboards to be used at blood donations venues to the Tokyo Red Cross Blood Donation Center of the Japanese Red Cross Society. The name and logo of ITOCHU is printed on the signboards. These signboards are being used at the entrances to blood donation venues throughout Tokyo.
Kids Mock Blood Donation
In August 2023, ITOCHU held a Kids’ Mock Blood Donation to convey the importance of blood donation to children at an event where children of employees visited the company during their summer vacation. On the day of the event, we also introduced the transportation of blood products by drone, which ITOCHU is conducting a demonstration experiment.