Sick Coworker Crane-Bombed By PopCap Shanghai

[Earnest Cavalli]

Sick Coworker Crane-Bombed By PopCap Shanghai

How do you show support for a fellow employee diagnosed with cancer, when you're physically located across an ocean? Solution: 1,000 origami cranes.

About a month ago, a post went up on the official PopCap Games blog explaining that Lisa, one of the firm's employees, would be undergoing chemo therapy to treat her cancer. A number of her coworkers volunteered to shave their heads in solidarity, and the entire heartwarming spectacle was caught on film [http://blog.popcap.com/2011/09/02/bald-and-beautiful/].

Seeing this outpouring of affection, PopCap employees working in the firm's Shanghai office felt a strong urge to likewise contribute, and the solution they came up with is equal parts traditional, touching and hilariously grandiose.

From the PopCap blog:

When our Shanghai office heard about the head-shaving party, they started thinking about a way to show their support for Lisa. Because cranes symbolize long life, good fortune and healing in China and Japan, they decided to make 1000 origami cranes for her.

First all 107 employees in Shanghai learned how to fold the cranes, then they got to work making 1000 of them in a week's time. The cranes were packed into luggage and came to Seattle with some Shanghai folks visiting for meetings last week.

The cranes landed in Lisa's office while she was out, and she was touched and amazed to find them everywhere when she returned!

See that "everywhere" at the end? That's not hyperbole. The pictures on that blog post show tiny paper cranes covering every open space in Lisa's office [http://blog.popcap.com/2011/10/03/1000-cranes-arrive-from-shanghai/]. Walls, tables, keyboards; nothing is safe from the affectionate avian assault.

We give PopCap due propers for creating some of the most addictive, immediately playable games on any platform, but it should also be said that the company is just a bunch of really great people.

No cynicism here. Way to go PopCap. You guys are rad.

Source: PopCap Blog [http://blog.popcap.com/2011/10/03/1000-cranes-arrive-from-shanghai/]



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[killamanhunter]

And they have earned my utmost respect, congrats!

 

[mjc0961]

I dunno. I think for a moment that I'd be touched by the gesture, but to be quiet honest I'd probably find myself quickly annoyed after that. It's got to be pretty hard to get any work done with paper cranes all over the place, and who would have to move them so that work could get done? Most likely me.

Still though, it's nice of them to think of her and put forth that kind of effort to show their support for her.

The pictures on that blog post show tiny paper cranes covering every open space in Lisa's office.

Broken link is broken.

 

[mikeybuthge]

I must say this is not what I expected from the title

 

[Kargathia]

I suggest glueing them to the walls. All of them.

 

[Stall]

PopCap really is a real stand up company. They reall are one of the forces of good in the gaming industry.

 

[Girl With One Eye]

That's amazing. It's nice to read a story like this and remember that good people do exist.

 

[redisforever]

That is how you show support for cancer victims. With pure heartfelt emotion. One of the teachers in my school, who had taught there for 25 years passed away last week from cancer, and I have to say:

FUCK CANCER.

 

[Jadak]

Will they also clean that shit up for her if she lives? It's a nice gesture and all, but I hope she was on her way out anyways or else work for the next little while is going to be fucking annoying with those damn cranes on everything.

 

[Athol]

Way to go PopCap, stay classy.

 

[Bacontastic]

The world needs more acts of kindness like this. *cheer*

 

[Turtleboy1017]

I remember when I lived in Japan, I heard stories of one young girl folding 1000 cranes with her mother for her sick father.

If only everyone had the patience to do such nice things for others.

 

[Eri]

One of the few crazy schemes that looks as good on paper as it does in real life.
You guys at PopCap are awesome.

Dohohoho. I c wut u did thar...

 

[Soviet Heavy]

I read that title as a psychotic PopCap worker who bombed a dock crane.

 

[emeraldrafael]

What do you mean they had to learn? Everyone in the orient knows how to make a paper crane. you're born with it.

...

But no being serious, thats actually kinda heart warming. We did something similar with a girl in our school who found out she had HIV. She loved little paper frogs, so a couple friends and I all spent time learning to make them, then made enough to fill her entire locker with them, each having some small inspiring thing on them, like, "give it hell" or, "HIV doesnt stand a chance", or "looks like HIV is gonna croak".

She appreciated it, the janitor didnt. But she kept a few of them. it made her ahppy, and thats all we wanted to do.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

OR as FOX reported it, 'slackers waste company time, lose shareholders money.'

I'll appreciate any company that lets stuff like this happen, never mind actively encourages it. In the end, people should be more important than the bottom line, and what so few bosses seem to get, happy, content, appreciated staff work better.

The head shaving is a nice touch too, from what I've heard, that can be a tough part of chemo, especially for women, losing their hair, if everyone at work is suddenly also a slaphead, then there's no feeling of looking a bit weird.

 

[Jailbird408]

This might be one of the most ignorant comments on this entire forum, but I have to say it:
This reminds me of that mission from We Love Katamari.
*heckled*

 

[evilneko]

It took 107 people a week to make 1000 paper cranes?

Still nice of course...

 

[Saucycarpdog]

[a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadako_Sasaki]They probably gained inspiration from this true story.[/a]

How nice of them. It always lifts ones spirit after hearing stories like this.