2017 Impact Report

It’s not often that you find a partnership which is so authentic, so perfectly aligned. A partnership that has brought joy to children around the world for more than a decade. A global alliance which has directly impacted the lives of children in a meaningful and life-changing way in over 50 countries. We are proud to say that this represents the partnership between Mattel and Make-A-Wish.

We are honored to be one of Mattel’s strategic partners, helping you to fulfill your mission to improve the lives of children in need. Since 2008, the Mattel Children’s Foundation has supported important mission-building infrastructure with the international grants program and helped make wishes come true for thousands of children across the globe through toy donations and support of Mattel-inspired wishes. Your impact has also been felt in local communities with your support of chapter and affiliate events. We proudly share with you this 2017 Impact Report, to showcase how Mattel’s partnership continues to inspire joy & play and to forever change the lives of children and families around the world.

A Wish Journey

A wish brings so much more than a moment of joy: it’s an incredible journey from anticipating the wish, to the wish itself, and well beyond. Wishes are an essential complement to the medical process, and recent studies, like the Israel Wish Study*, confirm what many wish families have told us for years: that wishes do have a powerful, positive impact on really sick kids. They are less anxious, eat better, sleep better, and feel more hopeful than their peers who don’t have a wish. A wish helps seriously ill children cope and motivates them through the challenges of their illness.

Make-A-Wish carefully designs a Wish Journey to ignite hope and build resilience during a period when a child needs it the most. Specially trained Make-A-Wish volunteers visit the family to get to know the child and help uncover what they most wish for. From the moment of referral through long after the wish has taken place, a wish child experiences the positive and life-changing impact through a Wish Journey!

Implementation of the Wish Journey requires resources and training to accomplish fully with 42 affiliates around the world – Make-A-Wish International is on Year 2 of a 3-year global implementation of the Wish Journey. Mattel’s steadfast support of the Wish Journey - through $25,000 grants in both 2016 and 2017 - has been critical for us to execute this consistently across the globe.

“We are deeply convinced that the Wish Journey will be vital to the healing process of our children, especially because through happy experiences, anticipation, laughter and fun, they can forget about the therapeutic protocol and can find positive energy to use to fight their illnesses. If the wish itself is a shot of optimism for the kid and his/her family, the Wish Journey is something that lasts a lifetime, a powerful positive thought that leaves them with beautiful memories that will last long after Wish Day.”

— Make-A-Wish Italy

Mattel Toys and Employees Help Make Wishes Come True

Mattel employees in Chile had a firsthand experience of participating in a Wish Journey when they helped to fulfill Martín’s wish to be a soccer goalie! Mattel employees were given their first clue when they received a ‘save the date’ email………followed by a second mailing which let them know all about Martín’s favorite things – his favorite color is red, he likes to watch monkeys on television and he saves the ball like a lion!

After sharing in his excitement of anticipation of his wish, Mattel employees received the invitation to come to Martín’s wish day! Mattel employees came out to the soccer stadium with banners to cheer him on, some even took the field to test his goalie skills……..but they were no match for Martín and he won the cup!

"Not all heroes wear capes, some wear gloves "

- Martín

Martín is just one of many wish children around the world whose life is brighter because of the generosity of Mattel and its employees. Nearly 30,000 toys were sent to US chapters in 2017, valued at more than $347,000 – these toys play an important role in the Wish Journey and initial visit with a wish child, helping to break the ice and improve the overall quality of our wishes. Mattel offices around the world have donated toys and enhanced wish experiences, making life-changing impacts across the globe.

Anita, 9, New Zealand, I wish to have the Lea Clark American Girl doll and dollhouse.

“Getting a Lea doll is my dream and this is the best day of my life – better than my birthday, better than Christmas! I am going to play with her every day, for the rest of my life!”

Livia, 8, Brazil, I wish to have a Barbie dream house and accessories, osteosarcoma

After Livia's one-true-wish for a dream house and accessories for her beloved Barbie dolls was granted, she was inspired to organize a fundraising campaign in her town to bring toys to the children at the local hospital.

Unika, 6, India, I wish to be Barbie, ALL.

For Unika, being Barbie® gave her the opportunity to imagine the possibilities and to be a kid again.

Jewel, 15, United States of America, I wish to have a Barbie experience, neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis

Mattel and the Barbie team went above and beyond to make Jewel’s Barbie experience a true reality.

2018 & Beyond: Continuing to Build a Wish Journey Together

Just as our wish children are on a journey, Mattel and Make-A-Wish continue to build on our journey together. We have made wishes come true for so many children across the globe, but many eligible children around the world are still waiting to receive a wish. Mattel can help change that, and get us closer to achieving our vision of reaching every eligible child……one wish at a time.

We look forward to strengthening our partnership in 2018 – bringing the Wish Journey and the joy of play to even more children, continuing to create impactful, life-changing wish experiences around the world.

We couldn’t do it without partners like Mattel and we thank you for your ongoing support.