By Laura French
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Toy company Mattel announced the expansion of its #ThankYouHeroes collection, designed to honor first responders, healthcare professionals and other “everyday heroes” serving as essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The expanded collection, which is part of the company’s broader “Play it Forward” platform, includes new items from the Matchbox, Mega Construx and UNO brands. All net proceeds from the line will go to #FirstRespondersFirst, an initiative created by Thrive Global, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Creative Artist Agency to support first responders and healthcare workers serving on the front lines.
The new #ThankYouHeroes products include:
- A Matchbox gift set featuring seven die-cast vehicles including an ambulance, mobile hospital, police car, garbage truck, grocery delivery van, news helicopter and package delivery van.
- Two Mega Construx building sets, one featuring a police cruiser, delivery cart and medical lab, along with five action figures comprised of three ambulance crewmembers, a police officer and a scientist, and the other featuring a food delivery truck and kitchen, along with three action figures comprised of a firefighter, cook and food delivery worker.
- A tin of UNO cards including Mattel’s brands and characters as frontline and essential workers, including Barbie as a scientist and He-Man as a grocery delivery worker.
The new items join the Fisher-Price #ThankYouHeroes assortment of 16 different action figures featuring a selection of EMTs, doctors, nurses and delivery drivers, as well as a special five-character Little People set comprised of an EMT, doctor, nurse, delivery driver and grocery store worker.
In addition, last week it was announced that the Barbie brand will donate a doll (up to 30,000 dolls) for each eligible career doll that was sold from May 14, 2020 – May 17, 2020 to the First Responders Children’s Foundation, benefiting the children of first responders.
“For 75 years, purposeful play has been at Mattel’s core, and we know toys can have a significant impact, particularly in unprecedented times like these,” said Mattel President and COO Richard Dickson. “That’s the intent of our Play it Forward platform, which is about leveraging our brands to drive awareness for, and give back to, important causes. Our #ThankYouHeroes line, focused on honoring and immortalizing frontline healthcare workers and everyday heroes, has already received tremendous consumer response. These new items from Matchbox, Mega and UNO will enable us to further recognize and thank today’s heroes while also driving additional donations to support first responders.”
The new #ThankYouHeroes items are available for pre-order through May 31, 2020 at http://MattelPlayroom.com/
“Mattel’s #ThankYouHeroes collection has tapped into something powerful: the tremendous gratitude we are all feeling for the frontline healthcare workers who are risking so much to protect us,” said Thrive Global Founder and CEO Arianna Huffington. “Expanding the collection will continue to put a spotlight on their contributions and sacrifices, so we can honor and support them as they go about their life-saving work.”