A fun-filled, charitable event will take place on the Santa Monica Pier this Sunday, Oct. 5 in the form of the 15th annual Mattel Party on the Pier as part of a partnership between Mattel and Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA.
Beginning at 10 am, the day will feature celebrities, sweet treats, a silent auction, and best of all, unlimited rides and carnival games with Mattel-donated prizes, all aimed to create a pleasurable time for Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA patients and their families.
The event is open to the public, with ticket sales going toward helping the well being of the patients.
“The funds go toward [the fields that have] the highest needs,” Kellye Carroll, Mattel Children’s Hospital Director of Child Life, said. “Research is among one, so I’m almost positive some of the proceeds will support the research of pediatric health issues.”
Mattel and Mattel Children’s Hospital make it possible to invite about 35-40 patients and their families to partake in an afternoon of playing games, enjoying rides, and meeting teenage celebrities.
This year, Sarah Michelle Gellar, who has visited Mattel Children’s Hospital, toured the facilities, and played bedside board games with some of the patients afterward, will host the Mattel Party on the Pier.
“We try to make sure every year that we invite families that have not had the opportunity to go,” Carroll said. “We would of course love to bring every patient family to the event.”
Carroll said that the simplicity of spending an afternoon on the pier holds deeper significance for the patients and their families.
“[Playing on the pier] is a normal thing to get to do, so for a chronically ill child, it’s not something that you get to do often,” Carroll said. “It’s a very motivating event for the patients; it’s a confidence builder for kids to be able to play games and win prizes. It provides a really normal day for these families.”
This event is volunteer-run and is expected to sell out. Tickets are $150 for adults and $75 for children ages 3-12.
Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA ranks fifth in the nation and provides medical care for patients who range from newborns to 18-year-olds. About 200 people from the hospital – patients and their family members – are expected to attend the Party on the Pier this year.
For more information, visit partyonthepier.ucla.edu.
