In 2005, Mattel named Special Olympics one of its global Signature Partners and continues to support various youth programs focusing on Young Athletes™, Youth Activation and Get Into It® through The Mattel Children’s Foundation in just over 100 countries. In addition, Team Mattel engages nearly 3,000 Mattel employees annually with Special Olympics Programs in 22 countries.
History of Support
From the start of the relationship, approximately 10 percent of Mattel employees have volunteered at Special Olympics Programs in Asia Pacific, East Asia, Europe/Eurasia, Latin America and North America. In 2007, in addition to more than 2,000 employees who volunteered at Special Olympics Programs, Mattel provided one of the largest corporate volunteer teams for the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai, China. More than 50 Team Mattel employees from over a dozen countries traveled to Shanghai to cheer on and support Special Olympics athletes. Mattel continued again to replicate this achievement at the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens, Greece as the largest corporate volunteer team with more than 60 volunteers and supporters.
In addition, Mattel’s support in 2007 and again in 2011 demonstrated the success of the Global Youth Summit and Young Athletes experiences. New in 2011 was Mattel’s involvement with the Unity Sports Events in Athens during the World Games. Mattel also provided a limited-edition Hot Wheels® car bearing the Special Olympics logo to each of the 7,000 athletes participating in the World Summer Games.
You can see the direct impact Mattel is making in Special Olympics Programs with their "Innovative Practices."