Matching Gifts to Médecins Sans Frontières

Aiming for a world free from conflict, natural disasters, and poverty, the very places where Doctors Without Borders operate.

As a company that supports the medical field, which is directly linked to people's lives and health, MEDIUS Group has been making matching gifts (donations) to Doctors Without Borders since 2023.

Doctors Without Borders is a private, non-profit medical and humanitarian aid organization. It provides emergency medical assistance to people facing crises such as conflict, natural disasters, and poverty, maintaining an independent, neutral, and impartial stance. Founded in France in 1971, its Japanese office was established in 1992.

MEDIUS Group implements a matching gift program where employees voluntarily contribute, and the company matches their donation to reach a total amount. This is a social contribution activity that group employees can participate in with a donation starting from 100 yen.

We are starting with what we can do to create a world where conflict, natural disasters, and poverty—the very places where Doctors Without Borders operate—are eliminated.

Doctors Without Borders (external site)

Participation in the United Nations WFP "Red Cup Campaign"

From the medical field, providing children with nutrition and hope.

MEDIUS Group is participating in the "Red Cup Campaign" implemented by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). This is a support activity to deliver "school meals" to children in developing countries suffering from hunger.

Main initiatives

We support this initiative by donating a portion of the sales from our private brand product, "ASOURCE Select," to school lunch programs.

School lunches create the future.

The school lunch programs we support not only improve children's nutritional status but also expand their educational opportunities. Because having school lunches allows children to attend school with peace of mind.
With the motto "Bringing nutrition and hope to children from the front lines of healthcare," we will promote this initiative as a social contribution activity that nurtures the future of children around the world, together with local medical institutions.

UN World Food Programme (external site)

Support for people with disabilities (supported by the Japan Assistance Dog Information Center)

Towards a society where everyone can live in peace and security.
Supporting the widespread adoption of assistance dogs and the realization of an inclusive society.

Assistance dogs, which support people with various disabilities such as visual impairments, hearing impairments, and physical disabilities, are still limited in number in Japan, and lifestyle limitations due to a lack of societal understanding remain. To create an environment where assistance dog users can participate in society with peace of mind, awareness campaigns and continuous educational activities are essential. The Japan Assistance Dog Information Center is the only organization in Japan that provides information, consultations, and public awareness campaigns from a neutral third-party standpoint, without training guide dogs, hearing dogs, or service dogs. The center works to raise awareness of the Assistance Dog Law and continues to engage society as a whole, in cooperation with government agencies, medical and welfare professionals, companies, and educational institutions.
For our company, which is involved in the medical and welfare business, improving the quality of life for people with disabilities through assistance dogs is a social contribution activity that is an extension of our business. Supporting the Japan Assistance Dog Information Center is highly compatible with our company's social contribution policy, especially from the perspective of correcting disparities in the medical and welfare fields. In addition to supporting through donations and membership, we are working to promote understanding through awareness-raising activities both inside and outside the company. By continuing these activities, we hope to raise awareness throughout the group and steadily expand the circle of support needed by society.

Assistance Dog Information Center (external site)

Contributing to Community Welfare

We will continue our steady social contribution activities together with the people of our community.

Sports activities are a way to contribute to society by bringing smiles to the faces of everyone in the community, including young children and people with disabilities. Kyowa Medical Corporation, Ltd. and ALVAUS, Inc. have teamed up with Shimizu S-Pulse, a J.League soccer team based in Shizuoka City, to establish the "S-Pulse Welfare Fund" and carry out unique social contribution activities. The fund is accumulated based on the number of goals scored and attendance figures at S-Pulse 's home games, and after the season ends, it is donated to local welfare organizations and medical institutions. This system allows the team's success to energize the community, which in turn contributes to the enrichment of local welfare.

As part of this effort, we also sponsor the "S-Pulse Cup" organized by the Shizuoka Council for the Promotion of Sports for People with Mental Disabilities, hold the "Kyowa Medical University/ ALVAUS, Inc. Cup" with the aim of increasing the motivation of children with intellectual disabilities to engage in leisure and lifelong learning through soccer, and invite teams participating in the cup to play a pre-match game for S-Pulse.

Kuribara Medical Instruments Co.,Ltd. Instruments has partnered with its local community in Ota City, Gunma Prefecture, and the professional basketball team Gunma Crane Thunders to develop the "Ota Health Promotion 39 (Thank You) Project," which contributes to the health of the local community. In conjunction with the Crane Thunders' home games, they hold a "Walking & Litter Picking Event from the Station to Op-Ari (Open House Arena Ota)!!!" which combines supporting the local team with efforts to improve participants' physical fitness and beautify the environment, thus contributing to the community from various angles. They also sponsor Thespakusatsu Gunma's community contribution activities, including collecting and recycling plastic bottle caps and using the proceeds from their sale to send vaccines to children in developing countries.

During the spread of the novel coronavirus, we donated 100,000 children's masks to Chiyoda Town in Oura District, Gunma Prefecture, and 360,000 children's masks to kindergartens near Ota City, in order to ensure that children who spend time in group settings such as schools and kindergartens do not lack adequate infection control measures.

While our individual activities may not be flashy, we will continue our steady social contribution activities together with the people of our community.

"MEDI-Message"—an Educational Event Connecting Local Communities and Medical Facilities

As many children as possible
I hope that they will pursue a career in the medical field in the future.

Within our group, Kyowa Kyowa Medical Corporation, Ltd. and ALVAUS, Inc., both based in Shizuoka Prefecture, have been holding the "MEDI-Message" awareness event in Shizuoka Prefecture since 2008, providing a fun way for local residents to experience the world of medicine. The event features popular activities such as demonstrations of laparoscopic surgery and cardiac catheterization in a recreated operating room, hands-on corners where visitors can touch and experience futuristic medical equipment and endoscopes, and medical talk shows featuring active medical professionals.

When MEDI-Message was first held in 2007, it was an exhibition where medical professionals could view a wide variety of medical devices in one place. However, with each passing year, it has grown into a place for community exchange that can be enjoyed by the general public. Every year, 6,000 to 9,000 people visit, 60 to 70 percent of whom are elementary and junior high school students. Recently, with the warm cooperation of medical professionals and medical device manufacturers, we have been able to mobilize all our employees to hold the event, and it has become an event that attracts visitors not only from Shizuoka Prefecture but from all over Japan.

Visitors have commented that they became interested in medical work, felt the sense of responsibility of medical staff, and were motivated to get tested after learning about advancements in medical technology. In fact, there have been cases where children who participated in past events have become medical professionals as a result. For medical staff, it has also been a valuable opportunity to interact with the local community and hear their voices directly. When it became difficult to hold events at venues due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we launched a new initiative: a mobile "MEDI-Message Seminar," where we held medical technology experiences and talk shows by active doctors at junior high schools in Shizuoka Prefecture. Amidst the growing shortage of medical professionals, we hope that as many children as possible will be inspired by their experiences at MEDI-Message to pursue a career in the medical field.