Orion pink week helps send 200 girls to school

Espoo, Finland: – Leading pharmaceutical company Orion Corporation announced today that its recent ‘pink week’ of dancing and exercise raised some 45,000 euros, enough to send 200 girls to school in developing countries in Africa and Asia.

Orion’s week in pink was staged in collaboration with Plan International’s campaign ‘Let’s Move for Girls’ during the week commencing October 6, culminating to coincide with the United Nations International Day of the Girl, on October 11.

During a week of wearing pink to show solidarity for the campaign, Orion employees at five different sites stretched, jumped and jogged for almost 43,000 hours in total, with the Finnish-based pharma giant donating more than one euro for each exercise hour.

“Orion staff’s contribution will help 200 girls in Plan and the Finnish foreign ministry’s target countries in Asia, Africa and South America,” said Plan Customer Relations Manager Donata Pennanen.

”We’re saying a huge Thank You to Orion and everyone who took part in the campaign,” she told the closing ceremony at Orion headquarters. “Orion people’s commitment has been beyond great! This donation will make a concrete difference in girls’ lives.”

Social responsibility

Orion has been a long-term partner with Plan since 2011, focusing especially on projects that help children’s wellbeing in developing countries.

Orion’s President and CEO, Timo Lappalainen, said the Corporation wanted to support Plan’s efforts for the children of the world as part of its social responsibility.

“Our core business at Orion is to build wellbeing. This campaign is an excellent tie between that task and a globally significant issue. Educating girls is known to have a direct link to improving standards of living,” said Mr. Lappalainen.

Access to education

Orion adopted the ‘Let’s Move for Girls’ campaign combining charity work with employees’ well-being last May, encouraging staff to exercise for the benefit of girls’ education in developing countries. The two six-week exercise periods in the spring and fall exceeded expectations: in the spring employees exercised over 23,000 hours, in the second period a little under 20,000 hours.

Plan International’s‘Because I am a Girl’ campaign improves girls’ access to education and protects them from violence and harmful traditions such as child marriages and female genital mutilation (FGM). Girls’ education is the single best investment to help end poverty and improve wellbeing in communities.

About Orion Corporation

Orion is a globally operating developer of pharmaceuticals and diagnostic tests. The company has been innovatively building wellbeing since 1917; initially in its native Finland and now has a direct presence in 21 European countries.

Orion develops, manufactures and markets human and veterinary pharmaceuticals, active pharmaceutical ingredients and diagnostic tests. It is continuously developing new drugs and treatment methods.

Orion and Fermion product and service offerings involve APIs and finished dosage forms as well as a capable marketing and sales network made available for partners’ licensing opportunities.Both Orion and Fermion also offer high value pharmaceutical contract manufacturing services for global markets.

Orion is a clear market leader in its main market Finland and also markets its products in more than 100 countries worldwide. The Group’s human pharmaceuticals sales organisation covers almost all key European markets. Several collaboration partners distribute Orion products in overseas markets.

All Orion manufacturing and most of its R&D operations are in Finland, with the group headquarters in Espoo, a short distance west of Helsinki. Orion employs some 3,500 people and in 2013 reported total worldwide sales of EUR 1,007 million. Orion A and B shares are listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki.

About Plan International

Founded over 75 years ago, Plan is one of the oldest and largest children’s development organisations in the world. It works in 51 developing countries across Africa, Asia and the Americas to promote child rights and lift millions of children out of poverty. During 2013, Plan worked with 78 million children in 90,229 communities.

Headquartered in Woking, southern England, the independent not for profit organization has fundraising organizations in 17 countries in Europe and the Americas, as well as in China, Japan, India and South Korea.

Plan’s vision is of a world in which all children realize their full potential and it aims to achieve lasting improvements in the quality of life of deprived children in developing countries, through processes that include:

• Enabling deprived children, their families and communities to meet their basic needs and increase their participation in society
• Building relationships to increase unity among different cultures and between nations
• Promoting the rights and interests of the world’s children

More information at: http://plan-international.org/