There are currently 200,000 children nationwide in Japan battling serious illness. Built near to hospitals, Ronald McDonald Houses are facilities that billets families so that they can offer support to their children to help them focus on treatment and getting well. The amount of individual donations that support these Ronald McDonald House facilities saw a sharp drop in the first half of 2009.Leveraging the traditional Japanese custom of making origami cranes, we succeeded in eradicating erroneous preconceived notions of donations and charity and actually changed people's behavior by fostering a sense of compassion for others and for children and a sense of the need to care for others, while at the same time also appealing to parents' desire to see their children learn what it means to care for others.Over a scant two weeks, a total of 264,223 paper cranes were collected. The year-on-year increase in in-store donations in Jan. 2010 was +82.9%, a record tally, while the year-on-year increase for the first quarter was a record +71.9%.

①In November 2009, the in-store donation boxes were remodeled. ②For two weeks from the November 6 campaign launch, the "Happy Origami Crane Project" was executed at about 1,070 McDonald’s restaurants in Japan. Origami paper was distributed with each Happy Meal purchase.

③The campaign announcement was made by In-store posters and tray mats. ④On November 10, celebrity couples with children of the same age group visited a Ronald McDonald House in support of the project.

⑤On November 10, the “Heart Education” class was held at public primary schools in Tokyo. This received media coverage, which led to exposure raising awareness of the project.⑥On January 23, 2010, the collected paper cranes were made into a giant art gift by children.

⑦A presentation ceremony was conducted on February 21 and the paper crane art gifts were presented to all six Ronald McDonald Houses.

An amazing total of 264,223 paper cranes were collected over a period of only two weeks, each bearing its own heartfelt handwritten message. The amount of donations in January 2010 reached an all-time high; a year-on-year increase of +82.9%. The donation amounts that followed remained stable, with February and March posting year-on-year increases of +50.7% and +81.1%, respectively. The year-on-year increase in the first quarter was a record +71.9%.

The Origami Crane Project generated buzz not only on TV and in newspapers but also on the web in blogs and in various online social media. All reports conveyed compassionate images not just of children but even adults working hard to fold cranes at the stores.