Grants Total More Than $1 Million to Children’s Organizations Worldwide
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Jan. 5 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- As part of its ongoing commitment to children and families around the world, the Mattel Children’s Foundation has awarded 42 grants in 38 countries totaling more than $1 million under its International Grants Program, including 21 grants totaling $525,000 in Europe in 2006.
"The Mattel Children’s Foundation is pleased that we can bring joy to children in need throughout Europe and around the world," said Deidre Lind, Executive Director of the Mattel Children’s Foundation and Mattel philanthropy programs. "It is our philanthropic mission to make a meaningful difference in the lives of children in need and we believe it is especially important to support organizations that directly serve children through our grant funding."
The Mattel Children’s Foundation International Grants Program awards grants to charitable organizations that directly assist children in need and support Mattel’s philanthropic priorities of building literacy and educational opportunities, supporting children’s well being and building girls’ self-esteem and empowerment.
-- In France, the Mattel Children’s Foundation gave $25,000 to Enfanceet Partage, an organization created over 30 years ago to protect children from violence and advocate for children impacted by violence. The funding will support the Allo Parents Bebe program which provides phone support free of charge to parents.
-- For the second year in a row, the Foundation’s grant in Germany was awarded to IFB’s Kaenguru program to support the construction of a unique petting zoo designed for autistic and other children with difficulty communicating.
-- The Foundation’s grant to CliniClowns in Belgium provides clowns to children’s hospitals, bringing some fun and relief to children facing serious health challenges.
In addition to Belgium, France and Germany, grants were distributed in: Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Please go to http://www.shareholder.com/mattel/downloads/Charts.pdf for a full list of the international grants made across Europe and around the world in 2006.
For more information on the Mattel Children’s Foundation International Grants Program in 2007, please log on to http://www.Mattel.com/About_Us/Philanthropy .
About the Mattel Children’s Foundation
The Mattel Children’s Foundation was established in 1978. With a vision of "making a meaningful difference, one child at a time," the Foundation provides cash grants through domestic and international grantmaking programs, as well as international scholarships to children of employees, matching gifts and volunteer grants for Mattel employees. In addition, the Foundation continues its tradition of partnering with exemplary nonprofit partners. Mattel has partnered with Special Olympics, Save the Children, the Mattel Children’s Hospital at UCLA, the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI) and the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation (CAAF). The Mattel Children’s Foundation is funded exclusively by cash donations from Mattel, Inc.
About Mattel
Mattel, Inc., (NYSE: MAT, http://www.mattel.com ) is the worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of toys and family products. Mattel continues to dedicate more than 2% of its pretax profit to charitable efforts, including product donations and grant making activities. The Mattel family is comprised of such best-selling brands as Barbie(R), Hot Wheels(R), Matchbox(R), American Girl(R), Radica(R) and Tyco(R) R/C, as well as Fisher-Price(R) brands ( http://www.fisher-price.com ), including Little People(R), Rescue Heroes(R), Power Wheels(R) and a wide array of entertainment-inspired toy lines. With worldwide headquarters in El Segundo, Calif., Mattel employs more than the 30,000 people in 42 countries and sells products in more than 150 nations throughout the world.
