After the overwhelming response to Mattel's #ThankYouHeroes collection from Fisher-Price, Barbie is unveiling a program to honor and support today's heroes and their families.
Mattel's Barbie #ThankYouHeroes program will help get dolls into the hands of children of COVID-19 first responders. For every eligible career Barbie doll sold between May 14 and May 17, the Barbie brand will donate a doll to the First Responders Children's Foundation.
"We want to do our part to give back and inspire today’s kids to take after these heroes one day," Mattel's SVP and Global Head of Barbie and Dolls Lisa McKnight said of the first responder-themed dolls.
"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,” McKnight added. "We want to do our part to give back and inspire today’s kids to take after these heroes one day.”
Due to the pandemic, the First Responders Children's Foundation recently shifted from providing college scholarships to the children of first responders who have lost a parent in the line of duty to helping families impacted by COVID-19.
"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," Jillian Crane from First Responders Children's Foundation said.
The foundation has a goal of raising $200 million to meet the projected needs of first responders.
MORE: Mattel honors workers leading fight against COVID-19 with special edition #ThankYouHeroes collection.
