Partnership Launches Young Athlete Program
Mattel Employees to Cheer and Volunteer Around the World
Mattel, Inc., and the Mattel Children’s Foundation announced today the launch of a three-year, global partnership with Special Olympics. Support will focus on the development of three programs, the Special Olympics Young Athletes™ Program, which will engage youth ages 2 through 7 with intellectual disabilities; the Special Olympics Get Into It™ (SO Get Into It) school-based curriculum, which teaches understanding, acceptance and involvement; and Team Mattel, which engages Mattel employees as volunteers in the Special Olympics movement around the world. Funding for the first year will total US$1 million.
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The three-year, global partnership between Special Olympics, Mattel, Inc., and the Mattel Children’s Foundation was announced on on NBC-TV's "Today Show." Here Mattel employees and Special Olympics Team USA athletes brave the cold to work the crowd outside the NBC studios. |
“The support of Mattel’s Children’s Foundation and Mattel employees globally will not only help grow the Special Olympics movement to reach more of the 180 million people with intellectual disabilities worldwide, but also help us create a world of acceptance for Special Olympics athletes,” said Timothy Shriver, Chairman and CEO of Special Olympics. Shriver and Bart Conner, Olympic gold medalist and member of the Special Olympics Board of Directors, appeared on NBC-TV's "Today Show" to announce the partnership. Shriver and Conner were accompanied by Zachary Edenzon, 6, of Belle Mead, New Jersey, Kayleen Larsen, 3, of Keyport, New Jersey, and David Richards, 7, of Bricktown, New Jersey. The three children are part of the Young Athlete Program of Special Olympics New Jersey.
This global partnership will enable Special Olympics to expand its youth programs to every continent as well as create the largest global corporate volunteer team in the history of the Special Olympics movement through the creation of Team Mattel. Thousands of Mattel employees in nine international locations, including China, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States, will be active participants in local Special Olympics activities. From providing water to athletes at track meets, lacing skates, scorekeeping at basketball tournaments, coaching and providing encouragement and cheers at the finish line, Team Mattel volunteers will be the global corporate support network for Special Olympics participants.
“As we planned for the relaunch of the Mattel Children’s Foundation, we considered ways to make a meaningful, global contribution. Our partnership with Special Olympics allows us to do just that,” said Kevin Farr, Chief Financial Officer of Mattel, Inc., and Chairman of the Mattel Children’s Foundation. “By focusing on sports programs for children with intellectual disabilities, Mattel employees will bring smiles to children’s faces around the world in support of our global philanthropic vision.”
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The Young Athlete Program will expand its successful pilot project to 12 additional locations, six of those in countries outside the United States, increasing the number of youth involved in Special Olympics on a global scale. Designed for children ages 2 through 7, the program strengthens physical development and self-esteem by building skills for future sports participation and socialization. Family members and caregivers also are encouraged to become involved as the child learns success through physical activity.
SO Get Into It is an in-school curriculum developed to promote acceptance and understanding of children with intellectual disabilities and to encourage involvement among their peers. The additional funding will enable the program to be translated into multiple languages and expanded to 4,000 schools in 35 countries around the world to reach children with and without disabilities.
The Mattel Children’s Foundation seeks to better the lives of children in need around the world through strategic charitable investments and by promoting the spirit of philanthropy and community involvement among Mattel, Inc. employees globally. Established in 1978, the Foundation maintains a commitment to its vision of “making a meaningful difference, one child at a time,” through its partnerships with exemplary nonprofit organizations and global and domestic grantmaking programs. The Mattel Children’s Foundation is funded exclusively by cash donations from Mattel, Inc.
For more information about the Young Athlete Program or SO Get Into It, contact Ron Vederman at Special Olympics: rvederman@specialolympics.org.
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