Merries and Heartbeat Vietnam to support 20 disadvantaged children with congenital heart defects

On July 11th 2023, at Kao Vietnam’s office, Merries hosted the closing ceremony of the fundraising campaign “Bring joy to thousands of Vietnamese hearts” – a campaign in collaboration with Heartbeat Vietnam and VinaCapital Foundation (VCF) to provide life-saving heart surgeries for underprivileged children with congenital heart defects (CHD) across the country. At the ceremony, Merries announced the campaign results after 2 months of implementation as well as the number of children saved and received the post-operative care support package.

Mr. Yasue Shintaro, CEO of Kao Vietnam, presented a symbolic mock cheque to Mr. Rad Kivette, CEO of VCF

Since its establishment in 1983, Merries, a premium diaper brand of the multinational corporation Kao, has constantly researched and developed products to create the most gentle on skin diapers and fulfill its mission of bringing smiles to both babies and parents. As this year celebrates their 40th anniversary, Merries sets goal to elevate this mission and bring happiness to not only Merries buyers and users, but also to as many parents as possible. Toward that end, Merries – Kao Vietnam and VCF signed a memorandum of understanding to launch the fundraising campaign “Bring joy to thousands of Vietnamese hearts” at the beginning of April 2023, supporting underprivileged children with CHD in Vietnam through VCF’s Heartbeat Vietnam program. For each package of Merries diapers purchased from authorized retailers, the brand would donate 4,000 VND to the Heartbeat Vietnam program.

Representatives of Kao Vietnam presented gratitude gifts to retailer partners of the campaign

After 2 months of implementation with a series of exciting communication activities, as well as support from Con Cung, AEON, Tiki, Shopee, Lazada, Soc&Brothers, AvaKids and 1300+ retailing partners, “Bring joy to thousands of Vietnamese hearts” campaign has successfully reached 6 million digital users and received the support of hundreds of thousands of parents across the country to raise 600 million VND in total. This meaningful donation will provide free heart surgeries for 20 underprivileged children and cover the post-surgery expenses for 10 of them, in order to bring comprehensive care and reduce the financial burden for their families.

Mr. Yasue Shintaro, CEO of Kao Vietnam, gave a speech at the closing ceremony

Mr. Yasue Shintaro, CEO of Kao Vietnam shares: “I believe joy should not be limited to Merries buyers and users. Every babies deserves to grow up in the most well-rounded way and every parents deserves to feel the merries of growing up with their babies. This meaningful activity will help Merries and our partners build a closer relationship with our customers. And it also helps me believe in a better life for Vietnamese people. ”

Mr. Rad Kivette – CEO of VinaCapital Foundation gave a speech at the closing ceremony

“The tremendous success of this meaningful campaign shows that when organizations who care come together, we can create miracles. We are extremely grateful for the partnership with Merries and Kao Vietnam as well as the loving support from hundreds of thousands of parents all across the country”, states Rad Kivette, CEO of VinaCapital Foundation, “VCF believes this is the beginning of a longer and stronger cooperation between two caring partners that share the same commitment to build a better and happier life for all children and mothers in Vietnam.”

Interacting with representatives from the Children’s Hospital and a family who received heart surgery support from the campaign

Founded in 2006, VCF’s Heartbeat Vietnam program has been devoted to saving little lives by improving access to free quality healthcare for poor children with congenital heart defects, helping them receive timely treatment, and assisting their families with financial support. Heartbeat Vietnam ensures that sick children are identified in 63 provinces to receive heart surgeries on a timely basis. Heartbeat Vietnam also provides family grants to families for pre and post-surgery expenses. Since its inception, Heartbeat Vietnam has saved the lives of more than 10,000 children with congenital heart defects, provided 1,004 Continuing Care packages for children to visit the hospital for check-ups and follow-ups, 776 Grants for families to have more resources to care for their children, and 248 Scholarships for bright students to maintain their education activities.