Mattel launches action figure line to honor and support coronavirus frontline workers

Toy maker Mattel is “playing it forward” to coronavirus frontline workers with a new line of action figures and Little People Community Champions.

The #ThankYouHeroes collection features 16 action figures including nurses, doctors, emergency medical technicians and delivery drivers, the release said. The five-piece Little People set includes a nurse, doctor, EMT, delivery driver and grocery store worker.

The action figures and the Little People set are all priced at $20.

The best part? The company says it’s donating net proceeds from each online sale from the Fisher-Price line to an initiative that supports frontline workers, according to a news release.

“#ThankYouHeroes is designed to immortalize and honor health care and every day heroes, and to drive additional donations to support first responders,” senior vice president of Mattel Chuck Scothon said in the release.

“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.”

Here’s how it works.

From now until May 31, Mattel says it will donate $15 from every online preorder from the #ThankYouHeroes line to the #FirstRespondersFirst initiative.

The collection is available here.

The #FirstRespondersFirst is an initiative from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Thrive Global and the CAA Foundation that provides supplies, accommodation, child care, mental health support and other resources to frontline workers battling the COVID-19 pandemic, the release said.

In addition to the new line of toys, Mattel is also producing 500,000 face shields for health care workers along with cloth masks, the company said.

This story was originally published April 29, 2020 at 8:45 AM with the headline "Mattel launches action figure line to honor and support coronavirus frontline workers."