Healthcare workers and essential personnel working on the frontlines have shown their heroism during the coronavirus pandemic. Now Mattel is immortalizing them with a new line of action figures and toys. The popular toy brand has a new roster of #ThankYouHeroes Fisher-Price action figures and Little People figurines featuring these essential workers.
Fisher-Price’s #ThankYouHeroes assortment includes 16 different action figures featuring a selection of doctors, nurses, EMTs and delivery drivers. The brand is also introducing a special five-character Little People set made up of a doctor, nurse, EMT, delivery driver and grocery store worker.
#ThankYouHeroes will be available for preorder starting today through May 31, 2020. Each item will retail at $20, with $15 from each sale being donated to #FirstRespondersFirst. Items are expected to ship to consumers by Dec. 31, 2020.
All net proceeds from the line will go to #FirstRespondersFirst, an initiative created to support first responder healthcare workers as they serve on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Fisher-Price collection is the first of several brand efforts from Mattel designed to support today’s heroes, with others kicking off in the coming weeks as part of the Company’s broader “Play it Forward” platform, which is focused on leveraging Mattel brands to give back to communities in times of need.
“#ThankYouHeroes is designed to immortalize and honor healthcare and every day heroes, and to drive additional donations to support first responders,” said Chuck Scothon, Senior Vice President of Fisher-Price and Global Head of Infant and Preschool, Mattel. “Whether these toys are given as a gift to recognize someone working on the front lines, or used as a tool to help children have conversations about how they are feeling, it is our hope that Fisher-Price toys, and play in general, can ultimately make these difficult times easier for both kids and adults.”
In addition to the launch of #ThankYouHeroes, Mattel is helping combat the fight against COVID-19 by producing face shields and cloth face masks for medical professions and has provided toy donations to non-profit partners domestically and around the world including Baby2Baby, Feed the Children, LA Family Housing, LA Students Most in Need (through the Los Angeles Unified School District), Partners for Pediatric Vision, Save the Children and UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, among others.
The company is also providing toys to Bright Horizons Daycare Centers, which recently opened in partnership with #FirstRespondersFirst for the children of first responders. Additionally, Mattel recently launched the Mattel Playroom, a free online resource for parents and caregivers which features activities and content from the Company’s iconic portfolio of brands.
—Jennifer Swartvagher
All photos courtesy of Mattel
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