Toymakers Remain Committed to Aiding Workers on Frontlines of COVID-19 Crisis

April 14, 2020 | Toy companies continue to assist hospitals and essential personnel in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic through the creation and distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) and through donations of both profits and toys to those on the frontlines.

CreateOn & Magna-Tiles

CreateOn, in partnership with Magna-Tiles, has developed and released two new Luminary Magna-Tiles sets in honor of the frontline healthcare heroes of the coronavirus crisis. CreateOn is donating 20 percent of all proceeds from the line to the Global Empowerment Mission's BSTRONG efforts to provide PPE to hospitals across the nation. The group has committed to servicing up to 250 hospitals nationwide.

LEGO

Fairy Bricks, a charity which donates LEGO sets to children’s hospices and hospitals and long-standing partner of The LEGO Group, plans to donate more than 30,000 LEGO sets to children of National Health Service (NHS) workers in the UK.

Beginning with a donation to Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London, Fairy Bricks will help hospital trusts distribute the LEGO sets to employees in line with social distancing and health and safety policies hospitals have in place.

MGA Entertainment

Little Tikes announced the development of the LEV LOVE system for doctors and patients to help fight the spread of COVID-19. The first items in the line, the reusable LEV LOVE Care Provider Mask for doctors and the LEV LOVE Ventilator Mask for patients, will begin production this week.

Little Tikes is donating the first batch of LEV LOVE masks to hospitals around the country as part of Operation Pac-Man, the non-profit organization started by MGAE Cares in response to the worldwide shortage of PPE for healthcare workers and hospitals.

PLAYMOBIL

The Brandstätter Group has launched the first reusable PLAYMOBIL nose and mouth mask. As of April 14, the mask, originally made available to its employees worldwide, can be ordered internationally through PLAYMOBIL’s online shop. The mask is designed to help reduce the risk of infecting other people with a droplet infection.

One euro from each direct sale will be donated to the Corona Emergency Aid Fund of the German Red Cross. This is in addition to its charity campaign "Heroes of the Everyday," with which PLAYMOBIL is already supporting the work of this organization against the coronavirus.

Spin Master

Spin Master’s product development team created a prototype face shield to offer protection for hospital workers by pairing existing headbands from its family guessing game Hedbanz with PET inserts. Partnering with its suppliers in Mexico, the company prototyped and produced 5,000 units, which were shipped and distributed to five hospitals in Ontario, including Mount Sinai and Michael Garron Hospital, last week. Spin Master hopes to produce more than 10,000 face shields a day and ship where they are needed most, including New York hospitals.

The shields, while not hospital-grade, have been individually packed in a sanitary environment. Requests from frontline healthcare workers can be submitted to communications@spinmaster.com with the subject line: Face Shield Request.

Vermont Teddy Bear

Vermont Teddy Bear is sewing more than 3,000 face masks to be donated to healthcare workers. Those seeking donations can email donations@vtbear.com with their organization’s name, address, the number of masks requested, and any other relevant information.

For more examples of how the toy community is giving back, click here. How is your company helping amid the pandemic? To have your initiatives featured, please submit them to jlynch@toyassociation.org.