Mattel Donates $100,000 And Thousands Of Toys To Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In response to the recent devastation by Hurricane Katrina to the Gulf coasts of Mississippi and Louisiana, Mattel, Inc. (NYSE: MAT) has made a cash donation of $100,000 to the American Red Cross to support its disaster response activities in the region. Additionally, the company will be making a donation of several thousand toys to relief organizations in the area.

"While it is clear that food and water is the current priority, the thousands of families displaced from their homes will be in temporary shelters for weeks and possibly months," said Kevin Farr, chief financial officer of Mattel, Inc. and chairman of the Mattel Children's Foundation. "We, at Mattel, understand the power of 'play' and will be working with organizations to ensure children have access to toys that will provide moments of much needed relief during the difficult months ahead."

Additionally, so that Mattel employees can support relief efforts, the Mattel Children's Foundation is opening its Matching Gifts program to match all donations related to disaster relief to qualified charitable organizations such as the American Red Cross up to $250,000 in total.

More information about the Mattel Children's Foundation and Mattel's philanthropic programs can be found at: https://www.mattel.com/about_us/Comm_Involvement/default.asp


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. In 2005, Mattel will partner 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.