Mattel Unveils #ThankYouHeroes Program From Barbie®, Supporting First Responders Children's Foundation

May 13, 2020

• For every eligible career Barbie doll sold at participating retailers from 5/14-5/17, Barbie will donate a doll to First Responders Children’s Foundation
• New program is part of Mattel’s broader Play it Forward platform, which focuses on leveraging Mattel brands to give back to communities in times of need

​Mattel announced today that Barbie will donate a doll for each eligible career doll sold from May 14-May 17 to the First Responders Children’s Foundation, benefiting the children of first responders leading the fight against COVID-19. The Barbie #ThankYouHeroes program is the second program launching as part of Mattel’s broader “Play it Forward” platform, which focuses on leveraging Mattel brands to give back to communities in times of need.

With 200 careers and counting, Barbie has always celebrated role models to show girls they can be anything. As part of the Barbie "buy a doll, donate a doll" effort, the brand spotlights everyday heroes supporting the community such as medical professionals, food-service workers, scientists, firefighters and more. When an eligible Barbie career doll or playset is purchased between May 14-17, the brand will donate a doll to the First Responders Children’s Foundation to be gifted to these heroes’ families to inspire play*.

“As Barbie has always highlighted role models to inspire the limitless potential in the next generation, we are proud to launch a program celebrating the real-life heroes working on the front lines and supporting their families through the First Responders Children’s Foundation,” said Lisa McKnight, SVP and Global Head of Barbie and Dolls, Mattel. “We want to do our part to give back and inspire today’s kids to take after these heroes one day.”

"First Responders Children's Foundation is excited to deploy Barbie to first responder families across the country during a time when their children are in need of a little joy in their lives," said Jillian Crane, President of First Responders Children's Foundation. “There's no doubt that first responders on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic are sacrificing so much to protect our families, and it's our responsibility as a nation to help them through this crisis by providing grants, scholarships and partnerships such as our program with Mattel that encourage consumers to support these efforts with the buy a doll, donate a doll program that benefits first responder families. This partnership also marks the official launch of the Foundation's Happy & Healthy Child Program, an initiative that will support the year-round needs of first responders’ children."

The new Barbie program follows the launch of Fisher-Price®’s #ThankYouHeroes collection, the first product line to be introduced as part of the Company’s Play it Forward platform. Additional brand programs will be launching in the coming weeks.

For more information about the First Responders Children’s Foundation, visit 1stRCF.org*. For additional details and eligible products for promotion, visit Barbie.com/Careers.

*Offer is valid at Barbie.mattel.com and at participating retailers or their e-commerce websites (Target, Walmart, Amazon and Kohl’s) in all 50 states of the United States. The retail value of the donated doll(s) is $9.99 - $19.99, with a max. donation of up to 30,000 dolls. For information about the charity, visit: 1stRCF.org. No portion of the purchase is tax deductible. Offer dates may be extended in Mattel’s sole and absolute discretion. For any reason, including in the event of force majeure, Mattel reserves the right to suspend or cancel the promotion in its sole discretion. For a complete list of eligible products, visit https://barbie.mattel.com/shop/en-us/ba/career-dolls