Mattel Supports Children’s Foundation With Portion of Proceeds of First Responder Barbie Dolls

Mattel’s latest line of Barbie dolls spotlights six real-life women — who also are frontline health care heroes with significant contributions during the pandemic — and will support the First Responders Children’s Foundation that benefits the children of first responders.

The brand will donate $5 for each doctor, nurse or paramedic doll sold — up to $50,000 — at participating Target locations through Aug. 28.

"Thank you to Mattel and Barbie,” Jillian Crane, president of First Responders Children's Foundation, said. “Mattel and Barbie showed up for First Responders Children's Foundation at the beginning of the pandemic. With their generous donations, we gave some joy to children across the country during a very difficult and scary time. With Mattel's financial support, we bought thousands of hotel room nights with food stipends for first responders on the frontlines. This exciting new partnership with Mattel, Barbie and Target will support our Power of Play Program which focuses on the social, emotional and behavioral well-being of children. These special Barbie dolls give children the opportunity to role-play with everyday heroes who show up for us in emergencies 365 days a year!”

The six dolls feature these six frontline health care workers:

• Amy O’Sullivan, RN, is an emergency room nurse who treated the first COVID-19 patient at Brooklyn’s Wyckoff Heights Medical Center. She became ill and was intubated, but returned to work a few weeks later to continue taking care of others.
• Dr. Audrey Sue Cruz is a frontline worker from Las Vegas who joined forces with other Asian-American physicians to fight racial bias and discrimination during the pandemic.
• Dr. Chika Stacy Oriuwa is a psychiatry resident at the University of Toronto who has advocated against systemic racism in health care.
  Professor Sarah Gilbert is a professor of vaccinology at the University of Oxford in the U.K., who led the development of the AstraZeneca vaccine
• Dr. Jaqueline Goes de Jesus is a biomedical researcher, who is credited for leading the sequencing of the genome of a COVID-19 variant in Brazil.
• Dr. Kirby White is a general practitioner who co-founded the Gowns for Doctors initiative by developing a PPE gown that could be laundered and re-used, allowing frontline workers in Victoria, Australia, to continue seeing patients during the pandemic.

Mattel launched its #ThankYouHeroes program last year as part of the larger Play It Forward platform that uses the company’s iconic brands, including Fisher-Price, Matchbox, MEGA, UNO and American Girl, to give back to communities in times of need.

“Barbie recognizes that all frontline workers have made tremendous sacrifices when confronting the pandemic and the challenges it heightened,” Lisa McKnight, senior vice president and global head of Barbie and dolls for Mattel, said in a statement. “To shine a light on their efforts, we are sharing their stories and leveraging Barbie’s platform to inspire the next generation to take after these heroes and give back. Our hope is to nurture and ignite the imaginations of children playing out their own storyline as heroes.”