The Mattel Holiday Festival for Children's Institute Brings Smiles To Hundreds of At-Risk Children and their Families

On Dec. 14th and 15th, CII made the holidays bright for more than 6,000 children and their parents whose lives have been impacted by family and community violence, abuse or neglect. The Mattel Holiday Festival for Children’s Institute is a day where families can spend quality time together during this special time of year.

The agency’s headquarters, the Otis Booth Campus near downtown Los Angeles and its Burton E. Green Campus in Torrance came alive with the magic of the holidays over the two fun-filled days. Guests enjoyed live entertainment, family photos courtesy of LA Photo Party, visits with Santa Claus and meals donated by El Pollo Loco. At the heart of the event was CII’s Annual Toy Giveaway – a distribution of toys to all children in attendance. Special thanks to Mattel for their generous contribution of financial support, toys and volunteers to this year’s event.

The festivals were hosted for families who receive services from CII. For many of these families, the festivals were the only celebrations they will experience during the holiday season.

In addition to Title Sponsor Mattel, Premier sponsors include: 2B Communications, AECOM Technology Corp., Bonert’s Pies, The C.H.I.P.S., The Colleagues, Collins Family Foundation, CorpInfo Services, El Pollo Loco Charities, Geico, LA Photo Party, Northrup Grumman, PPW, Inc., PSLA, Rovio, Toyota

Other sponsors include: Accountemps, Baby2Baby, Brentwood School’s FROSTY Club, Brü Haus, Los Angeles City Councilmember Joe Buscaino, California Pizza Kitchen, City of Torrance, Doubletree Hotel Torrance, Friends of CII, Haitbrink Asphalt Paving, Inc., Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Herbalife Foundation, James Event Productions, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, The Molina Foundation, Montage Insurance, Chris and Dick Newman, Bill Perry, RJ Noble, Robert Half Technology, Sempra Utilities, Shelter Partnerships, SoCal Office Technologies, TJX, Union Bank and the CII Board of Trustees.

More information:

Children’s Institute, Inc. (CII) helps children in Los Angeles’s most challenged communities heal from the trauma of family and community violence, build the confidence and skills to break through the barriers of poverty, and grow up to lead healthy, productive lives. Established in 1906, CII now serves more than 20,000 children and families in Los Angeles County through treatment, youth development, family support and early childhood services. We also inform the larger child welfare field through the research and professional training efforts of the CII Leadership Center. Our headquarters is located just west of downtown Los Angeles, with additional facilities in Watts, Torrance, Long Beach and other areas of Los Angeles County.

For more information visit www.childrensinstitute.org

Mattel is Title Sponsor of this year’s event. Mattel’s philanthropic mission is to make a difference one child at a time by globally partnering with charitable organizations dedicated to directly serving children. Mattel believes in the Power of Play by creating joy through the Mattel Children's Foundation, product donations, global grant making and the work of employee volunteers. In 2012, Mattel donated more than a 1/2 million toys valued at over $10 million to hundreds of organizations around the world.

For more information visit: www.mattel.com