Toys That Empower Children To Help Others Should Be On Their Christmas List This Year

Monkeez Makes a Difference is designed to teach children the importance of helping others and giving back through kid-friendly toys and tools including the best-selling Genuine Monkeez and Friends™ plush characters, online games, real-life Do Good challenges and a special 10% donation on each child’s behalf to one of three nationally renowned charities of his or her choice. Thanks to popular demand, Monkeez Makes a Difference recently donated $45,000 based on sales, split equally between Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, Samaritan’s Purse and Best Friends Animal Society.

The fun and education starts with the Genuine Monkeez and Friends plush characters featuring special Monkeez Makes a Difference tags, which are available at www.MonkeezAndFriends.com and at independent retailers across the country. There are more than 90 plush designs in multiple sizes to choose from, including monkeys, owls, bears, lions, dogs, cats, pigs, cows, octopuses, panda bears, kangaroos, turtles, koalas, alligators, hedgehogs, elephants, hippos, zebras, frogs, bunnies and raccoons. Each specially marked character comes with a unique online game activation code on the tag. Suggested retail prices range from $2.99 to $100.

With an adult’s help, children follow the instructions on the tag and visit www.MonkeezAndFriends.com. There, they can enter the code and watch videos about each charity that partners with Monkeez Makes a Difference, including Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, Samaritan’s Purse and Best Friends Animal Society.

Children can select which charity they would like to contribute to, and Monkeez Makes a Difference donates 10 percent of the wholesale cost on their behalf. By selecting the charity of their choice, children unlock the door to an interactive and educational online world. Children can revisit www.MonkeezAndFriends.com as many times as they’d like to play educational games and learn more about what they can do to help others.

Monkeez Makes a Difference also extends the experience to the local level, helping children to make a difference at home, at school and in their communities every day with Do Good Cards. Available in 15 different packs, each Do Good Card set contains challenges that consist of simple, but meaningful, tasks, such as, “Today at lunch, look around. Invite a child that is sitting alone to sit with you.” When children have completed each challenge and talked about the experience with their parents, they receive the trading card, which can be redeemed at www.MonkeezAndFriends.com to receive incentives to continue making a difference.