WowWee Donates 2018 Toy of the Year to Children in Need Across the U.S.

Company Encourages Play by Donating Thousands of Most-Wanted FingerlingsⓇ Toys to Children

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Nov 27, 2018, 09:07 ET

MONTREAL, Nov. 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- WowWee®, a leading manufacturer of innovative consumer entertainment products and makers of FINGERLINGS ®, UNTAMED®, and more, is continuing its mission of delivering smiles with the announcement of their 2018 Charitable Giving program. Designed to bring the fun and encourage play, WowWee's Charitable Giving program will close the year by gifting thousands of brand new FINGERLINGS and UNTAMED toys to children in need across the country.

WowWee added FINGERLINGSⓇ to 6,000 backpacks given to homeless students as part of Volunteers of America-Greater New York's OperationBackpackNYC in 2018.

Heralded as the 2018 Toy of the Year, FINGERLINGS are motion, sound, and touch enabled interactive pets that wrap around your finger and come to life with over 40 sounds and animations. Recently launched, but already topping toy lists from retailers and media alike, UNTAMED creatures are interactive pets that react to touch, motion, and sound and can be fierce or friendly depending on how you play.

"We take so much pride in being able to inspire, excite, and delight children across the globe with our products," said Richard Yanofsky, WowWee CEO. "Through this new initiative, we're grateful to have a small but meaningful impact on the lives of over 30,000 kids, and we look forward to bringing smiles for years to come."

"We are very pleased to welcome WowWee as a national corporate sponsor of the Marine Toys for Tots Campaign," said retired Marine Colonel Ted Silvester, vice president of the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. "With their generous support, we will be able to fulfill the Christmas holiday dreams of thousands of less fortunate children, who otherwise might have been forgotten."

WowWee has taken a thoughtful approach to align itself with a variety of organizations to distribute their toys, extending their reach across recipients. In 2018, WowWee selected the following charitable organizations to receive toy donations:

Operation Backpack®: Volunteers of America's community service campaign that helps ensure that every child living in a New York City homeless or domestic violence shelter who needs one, receives a beautiful new backpack filled with school supplies in time for the first day of school.
Toys for Tots: A program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve that distributes toys to children whose parents cannot afford gifts for the holidays.
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital: A leading children's hospital pioneering research and treatments for kids with cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
Starlight Children's Foundation: A nonprofit organization founded in 1982 for hospitalized kids and their families.
The Ohr Meir Foundation: Each year the foundation hosts a trip to Disney in Orlando for 50 children with life-threatening illnesses. This year, they will be offering these children the special opportunity to "shop" in an exclusive pop-up shop, thanks to a variety of organizations that are helping to put this once-in-a-lifetime experience together.

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ABOUT WOWWEE
WowWee® is a 30 year global innovator and industry leader in developing, marketing, and distributing hi-tech consumer robotic, toy, and entertainment products. Since its launch in 1988, WowWee has revolutionized the way consumers interact with robotics - fusing technology and imagination to deliver award-winning toys and gadgets such as Robosapien® and MiP®, The Toy Association's Innovative Toy of the Year (TOTY) in 2015. WowWee's most recent innovation, Fingerlings®- the first-ever line of animatronic collectible toys - instantly skyrocketed in popularity, topped retail best-selling lists around the world, and recently won the 2018 Collectible Toy of the Year and overall Toy of the Year awards. A full range of new product lines and a robust licensing and entertainment program is planned for 2018 and beyond. With offices in Montreal, San Diego and Hong Kong, WowWee continues to innovate across the toy and entertainment categories. Please visit http://www.wowwee.com/.

SOURCE WowWee