Mattel unveils special edition collectible toys honoring the heroes fighting the pandemic

Gone are the days when the word "hero" was associated with capes, and superhuman physical strength. Today, the title almost exclusively belongs to the brave souls risking their lives in the fight against the novel Coronavirus and rightly so. Now, Mattel is honoring their services, sacrifices, and courage with a special edition line of collectible action figures of doctors, nurses, EMTs, and delivery drivers. The toy company is also offering a five-character Little People set that includes a grocery store worker figure along with the others. All net proceeds from the #ThankYouHeroes assortment will go to the #FirstRespondersFirst initiative.

The special edition toys—which will launch under the Mattel subsidiary Fisher-Price—honors the individuals leading the fight against the pandemic and essential workers who are helping keep communities up and running, the company said in a press release. All the dolls and the Little People sets are priced at $20 dollars each, of which $15 will go to the #FirstRespondersFirst initiative, which supports health care workers on the front lines. The entire #ThankYouHeroes assortment reportedly includes 16 different action figures featuring a selection of doctors, nurses, EMTs, and delivery drivers.

"#ThankYouHeroes is designed to immortalize and honor healthcare and everyday 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."

Arianna Huffington, Founder and CEO of Thrive Global—one of the organizations behind #FirstRespondersFirst—said, "We launched #FirstRespondersFirst to support healthcare workers and their families who are on the frontlines of this pandemic. Mattel’s iconic brands and products speak to something deep within us. So it will be wonderful to see this new Fisher-Price collection not only bring joy to children but give parents and caregivers a new way to honor healthcare first responders and everyday heroes and their families." The #ThankYouHeroes collection is the first of several brand efforts from Mattel to honor healthcare and essential workers, with more launching in the coming weeks.

#ThankYouHeroes is now available for pre-order until May 31 and the toys are expected to ship to consumers by December 31, 2020. Aside from the launch of the new toy collection, Mattel is helping tackle the global health crisis by making face shields and cloth face masks for medical professionals. The company recently revealed that instead of the 100,000 face shields it originally promised, it is is now producing 500,000. "Mattel has also provided toy donations to non-profit partners 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 said in a press release.

"Additionally, the Company is donating toys to various Bright Horizons Child Care Centers that have been opened as special child care hubs, offering free child care for the children of frontline healthcare workers, through the #FirstRespondersFirst initiative. Mattel also 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," it added.