Initiatives to Benefit Children

Teacher training by private enterprises

As part of a corporate training program for teachers, ORIX welcomed 20 public elementary and junior high school teachers from Tokyo’s Bunkyo and Ota Wards. Organized by the Japan Institute for Social and Economic Affairs—an affiliate of the Keidanren (Japanese Business Federation)—this program functions as a private sector training program for public school teachers, aiming to deepen understanding of various corporate ideas and efforts which can potentially be applied to school management and educational initiatives for children. In 2023, the program was conducted in person for the first time in three years thanks to easing coronavirus restrictions, enabling participants to experience the company’s activities through SDG-themed seminars (a topic of great interest in the educational field) and tours of the Sumida Aquarium.

Lessons by visiting teachers

The Sumida Aquarium has tied up with Sumida Ward in providing lessons by visiting teachers to Sumida Ward classrooms, and is cooperating with environmental program efforts to protect living things. Through these efforts, the Aquarium strives to create opportunities for students to develop curiosity about living things and the environment.

Together with the Kyoto City Board of Education, the Kyoto Aquarium also offers lessons for elementary schools in Kyoto City. One of the themes of the lessons is the giant salamander – an animal that is symbolic of the rivers of Kyoto. We conduct lessons allowing children to learn about the giant salamander by fully experiencing it, using tools such as worksheets and images. In addition to online classes with elementary schools, the Kyoto Aquarium has resumed in-person lessons since 2023, with aquarium staff hosting seminars. Altogether, staff have interacted with over 10,000 children as part of efforts to share information about living things in Kyoto and environmental issues.

Fostering the next generation through business collaboration

The Kyoto Aquarium participates in a comprehensive partnership agreement between four facilities: Kyoto Aquarium, Kyoto City Zoo, Kyoto Prefectural Botanical Garden, and Kyoto City Youth Science Center. This partnership comprises three main pillars: i) collaborating on initiatives relating to irreplaceable ecosystems; ii) passing down the legacy of Kyoto's natural environment to the next generation; and iii) sharing a wide range of information and promoting interaction between staff members. Various events including workshops are held throughout the year.

ORIX Environmental Resources Management: Children's Future Fund

ORIX Environmental Resources Management established the “ORIX Environmental Resources Management Child Future Fund” in 2016. This was in Yoriimachi where the Yorii Plant—a waste processing facility—is located and is made to help the next generation develop their physical and mental well-being.
In Yoriimachi, the aforementioned fund supports an international exchange project for junior high school students, held in collaboration with Yoriimachi’s sister city in the United States, Marysville City, Ohio.
In 2018, junior high school students from Yoriimachi visited Marysville City, and since then reciprocal visits were held each year.

Baseball classes, team-sponsored tournaments, and career seminars

The ORIX Buffaloes baseball team holds family tee-ball classes for children who are just starting to learn and play baseball in addition to baseball classes for children who belong to a team, where alumni of the ORIX Buffaloes team visit to provide instruction and coaching. Additionally, the ORIX Buffaloes CUP—a tournament sponsored by the baseball team—is directed at students in elementary school and junior high school as well as adults and the general public and aims to increase the number of baseball enthusiasts across all generations by engaging in projects that promote baseball.
Furthermore, the team’s alumni staff members attend vocational classes for junior high school students to discuss the appeal of baseball and their real-life experiences in the sports industry to help raise individual awareness as contributive members of society and to provide an opportunity to learn about potential career paths.
Social contribution initiatives by the ORIX Buffaloes can be found here. (in Japanese)

The Orange Ribbon movement for child abuse prevention

Apartment maintenance businesses Daikyo Astage and Anabuki Community are involved in the Orange Ribbon movement with the goal of eliminating all forms of child abuse from the properties they operate. The Orange Ribbon movement is a civil movement to eradicate child abuse by spreading awareness leveraging an orange ribbon as a symbol. All employees and management staff sequentially participate in courses about the Orange Ribbon movement to obtain accurate information about child abuse prevention and on how to act appropriately if/when necessary. Information is shared regularly with occupants/residents as well.

Safari Ramadhan

As part of Corporate Social Responsibilities, SMS Finance contribute to public by giving donation to some orphanages. These activities held during Ramadhan period which recognized as Holy month for Moslem, within 23 March until 22 April 2023. We called this event as “Safari Ramadhan”. SMS Finance donate to 16 orphanages in 16 cities all over Indonesia. In donation, we provide food staples and school needs to more than 400 orphans. The Orphanages said that the donation can help them to fulfil their daily need and can support orphans to achieve their aim for the future. They pray that SMS Finance will have a bright future and always blessed.

Annual holiday giving targets children, hunger and homelessness

As part of their annual holiday giving, ORIX USA focuses donations on hunger and homelessness, particularly to support vulnerable and disadvantaged children’s needs. In 2023, the 16 worthy organizations who received funding were local organizations in Boston (Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Friends of Boston’s Homelessness, and Rosie’s Place), Chicago (Blessings in a Backpack, Greater Chicago Food Depository, and Sarah’s Circle), Columbus (Community Shelter Board, Mid-Ohio Food Collective, and YMCA of Central Ohio Van Buren Shelter), Dallas (North Texas Food Bank, Community Partners of Dallas, and Crossroads Community Services), and New York (Crossroads Community Services, The Campaign Against Hunger, and The Child Center of NY).

These organizations tackle a wide range of issues facing children, including childcare necessities, educational resources, early development, poverty, and hunger.

In addition, ORIX USA also contributes to Feeding America which partners with food banks, food pantries, and local food programs to bring food to people facing hunger and advocates for policies that create long-term solutions to hunger.

Promoting education and sponsorship of the Dutch Mathematical Olympiad

Transtrend supports initiatives that promote education and as our roots are quant-oriented, we focus our efforts on quantitative education. We promote education among others by providing additional mathematics lessons to local secondary school students and offering and supporting school projects and internships. In this process we do take gender and the cultural and/or social background of the children and students into account. We aim to help girls in making a well-informed choice for a profile. And we prefer to spend more time on supporting children who receive little or no support from home than children who do.
Additionally, we are a main sponsor of the Dutch Mathematical Olympiad, which is an annual contest for secondary school students. From the winners of three national rounds, teams are selected and intensively trained in our offices to represent The Netherlands at three international mathematical contests, such as the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). For young talented students, the road towards such a contest is a once in a lifetime experience. We support paving that road.
For further details, please refer to Transtrends’ Sustainability page.