Think your group is too big for a community outreach project? More than 1,400 Astellas Pharma US Inc. employees traded their smart phones and business suits for paint brushes and elbow grease on June 13. And Give Kids The World welcomed its largest-ever single volunteer group. 

Volunteer assignments ranged from sprucing up guest villas with fresh paint and landscaping projects to wrapping gifts for wish families at the nonprofit's village—a 70-acre whimsical resort in Central Florida that donates cost-free fantasy vacations for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. Give Kids The World has welcomed more than 115,000 families from all 50 states and more than 70 countries. 

The June volunteer effort is part of Astellas’ annual social responsibility event called Changing Tomorrow. Employees from the pharmaceutical company were in Central Florida attending the company’s annual national sales meeting at the Orlando World Center Marriott. 

An additional impromptu promotion,Wear Jeans Thursday, allowed employees who made a gift to Give Kids The World to wear jeans instead of typical business attire during the conference. In just four days, Astellas employee and corporate donations totaled US$25,135.