How do you bring 2 distinct companies and cultures together, while introducing a powerful new mission in oncology? Together with Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, we came up with 1000 answers.
In Japan, an ancient legend promises that a person who folds 1000 origami cranes, or senbazuru, will be granted a wish. Often, the wish is for recovery from illness.
Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company’s deepest wish is to cure cancer and make a real difference in the lives of the patients to whom they are committed.
So, we invited the oncology community to visit 1000 Cranes of Hope, an online and physical monument to the fight against cancer.
Visitors to the site can contribute their own wishes and dreams in regard to the fight against cancer, then set their crane free to join the online flock. Sharing these deeply personal wishes, and reading those of others, made for a vibrant, social stand against cancer.
At the launch event, origami artisans taught Millennium employees to fold their own wish cranes, which were later incorporated into the physical lobby monument.
Installed shortly after Takeda’s acquisition of Millennium, the monument also served to unite the 2 distinct global cultures—Japanese and American—further strengthening the new partnership.
To date, over 3500 people have created wishes for 1000 Cranes of Hope, and the monument and site were awarded 2 Healthcare Clio Awards.
Now, 1000 Cranes of Hope greet every employee in the Millennium offices in Cambridge—reminding them of the deeply personal and meaningful work they do every day.