Ultimate Dream Team: Mattel’s Hot Wheels® and Project Pinball Charity’s Pinball Placement Program

Since the release of Hot Wheels by American Pinball in 2020, Project Pinball Charity has placed four of the pinball machines within Children’s Hospitals and Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHCs) nationwide to share therapeutic benefits as part of their Pinball Placement Program.       

It’s not the same without the flame! Project Pinball Charity knows this to be true. Each time the Team rolls a Hot Wheels pinball machine into a Children’s Hospital or RMHC, young patients’ faces light up with recognition and utter delight. Parents and Staff are excited as well, nostalgia running through their minds as the first debut of Hot Wheels® was on May 18, 1968.

Fifty-six years of joy has driven across the world, touching the lives of generations past and present making Hot Wheels® one of the most recognizable brands in the world. This is why Project Pinball Charity teamed up with American Pinball in 2020, bringing that familiarity into medical environments to aid in rehabilitation, recovery, and respite through pinball play.

Every day across the nation, young patients and their families are displaced from their homes and routines and forced into foreign situations and places due to serious health-related issues. The familiarity of a pinball machine, especially one as recognizable as a Hot Wheels®, acclimates patients and families to medical environments while providing a specific type of comfort and joy to young patients that is only achieved through interactive play.

The first Dedication of a Hot Wheels® pinball machine within Project Pinball Charity’s Pinball Placement Program was at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, MO on 12/11/2020. This Dedication was particularly special as it was one of the first since the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Team knew the therapeutic benefits of a coping tool like a pinball machine would be critical while navigating the isolation, stagnation, and affliction caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic.

A highlight of this Dedication was honoring the memory of Kerby Fowler, the Father of the Volunteer Technician at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. Considering the experience everyone was feeling globally at that time, Patients and their families especially needed a positive boost of hope. Kerby Fowler’s words upon the plague were spot on, reading, “Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you.” Kerby’s words are read every day by patients and families in St. Louis, MO, filling their minds and hearts with joy, encouragement, and most importantly hope in the midst of crisis.

The second Dedication of a Hot Wheels® pinball machine was at the Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone Health in New York City, NY on 06/21/2022. This Dedication was extremely close to heart for the Project Pinball Charity Team as it was in memory of Dahlia Rowan, one of the Charity’s long-time supporters and friends. Hot Wheels® was the perfect choice to honor Dahlia, inspiring kids to be kids and families to pause their stress and bond over a shared interest–that is exactly what Dahlia wanted.

The Hot Wheels® machine is now a core part of the landscape in the Game Room at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital with a sparkling view of the East River. Patients and families have access to a multitude of therapeutic benefits to help them with rehabilitation, all thanks to community support, the classic recognition of Mattel’s Hot Wheels®, and the guaranteed fun.

The third Dedication of a Hot Wheels® pinball machine was at the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Chattanooga in Chattanooga, TN on 06/20/2023. Immediately drawn to the machine, as soon as the Hot Wheels pinball machine was set up five siblings and their father walked into the Game Room. They recognized the theme instantly and desperately wanted relief from their stress after spending all night in the local Children’s hospital. Hot Wheels® pinball became their shared focus.

The father’s attention was captured as well, reminding him of the Hot Wheels® he saw as a child. Everyone in attendance at the Dedication was moved, seeing first hand the positive influence a pinball machine has on a person’s demeanor and mood instantaneously. Ronald McDonald House Charities are the epitome of care and compassion, and Project Pinball Charity is honored to partner with local Houses, increasing and amplifying the resources available to patients and families in crisis with pinball machines like Hot Wheels.

The fourth and most recent Dedication of a Hot Wheels pinball machine was at the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Boston Harbor in Charlestown, MA on 04/10/2024. The patients and families staying at the RMHC of Boston Harbor had never played pinball before. At times young patients are hesitant when new people and items are introduced to their safe space. Patients know the feeling of overstimulation, spending hours being poked and pricked. However, Hot Wheels® is the perfect game for these first-time players.

New players already know the world of Hot Wheels®, easily engaging with the theme and immediately feeling comforted and intrigued. Any anxiety, fear, or stress melts away as they pull the plunger and flip their first pinball into the playfield, hearing the familiar sounds of cars zipping around a track.

Positively benefitting the health of young patients and their families is Project Pinball Charity’s main concern and a pinball machine’s consistent therapeutic benefits fit perfectly with the flux of a medical environment. Mattel’s Hot Wheels® significantly increases the success of this dynamic relationship, ensuring that all generations are inspired and nurtured for years to come.

About Project Pinball Charity Group, Inc.
Project Pinball Charity Group, Inc. is dedicated to providing recreational relief to all patients and their families, as well as the physicians, nurses, and staff who care for them at their local Children’s Hospitals, Ronald McDonald House Charities, and other Patient/Family Care Facilities.

A pinball machine is a powerful tool that offers therapeutic benefits, which fits perfectly with the dynamics of medical/care environments. It progresses patients’ healing while keeping them active and mobile, not to mention it is stimulating and fun entertainment.

Project Pinball Charity provides all the equipment, parts, supplies, and regular maintenance at no cost to the host location. With each visit and testimony, Project Pinball Charity is realizing the power of a pinball machine when placed in the right setting with care.

To learn more about Project Pinball Charity, visit their new website at http://projectpinball.org.