The 15th Annual Mattel Party on the Pier to benefit Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA took place on the Santa Monica Pier on October 5, 2014. Nearly 2,000 guests, including pediatric patients and their families, filled Pacific Park to enjoy unlimited amusement-park rides and carnival games stocked with a wide variety of toys donated by title sponsor Mattel, Inc. Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar served as host of the event and was joined by many young celebrities from popular children’s television shows who signed autographs and volunteered in the game booths. The event also included on-site and online silent auctions, arts and crafts and music. Sponsors and VIP ticket holders escaped the heat in the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation VIP Area, where they enjoyed cuisine generously provided by Wolfgang Puck Catering.
This year’s event, chaired by Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA Board member Liz Greenspan, was the largest and most successful to date. More than $830,000 was raised to support the hospital’s highest-priority programs and innovative discoveries that benefit children. Recent funding has supported inflammatory bowel disease and gene-therapy programs, research on autismassociated epilepsy and treatments for children who have undergone chemotherapy and bone-marrow transplants.
