Hi MESH Helps! Thanks for taking the time to speak with The Bloom Report. Can you tell us what role you play in the toy and game industry?

MESH Helps is a nonprofit focused on strengthening children’s mental, emotional, and social health (MESH) through play. We work with the toy and game industry to identify and recognize products that help kids build essential life skills like problem-solving, communication, perseverance, and self-regulation.

At the same time, we’re focused on helping parents, educators, therapists, and caregivers understand how play can support children’s well-being in real, everyday ways.

What opportunity do you see for the toy and game industry when it comes to children’s well-being?

This industry already creates moments where kids are learning and growing. When you start to recognize play as a way kids can intentionally build skills of resilience and navigate challenges, it changes how you think about the role of toys and games entirely.

What makes MESH Helps unique in this space?

We’ve built the MESH Accreditation framework that connects play directly to skill-building in a way that's both credible and usable.

Through MESH Accreditation, we’re able to highlight products that support children’s mental, emotional, and social health development and give the industry shared language around impact.

What has been a defining milestone for MESH Helps so far?

Seeing the industry rally around the youth mental health crisis. Companies are recognizing that what we create has real impact, and they want to be part of that. That’s what makes our initiative, Play for Resilience™, possible.

Tell us about Play for Resilience™. What is it and why now?

MESH Helps is launching its first national Play for Resilience™ initiative, bringing resilience-building play experiences directly to families through community-based activations across the country.  It’s designed to make the connection between play and resilience more visible and accessible to families.

We’re bringing this to life in partnership with the American Library Association, with MESH Helps resources and MESH-Accredited products featured in libraries nationwide. This includes support from Ravensburger with Rush Hour, Zingo!, and Puzzle Up and Mindware with Friends & Neighbors and The How I Survived Game along with additional contributions from MAGNA-TILES, Pennycake, CONNETIX, and Blue Marble.

Learn more: www.MESHhelps.org/libraries

We’re also sharing a video in Chuck E. Cheese locations nationwide May 1 - 8, featuring MESH-Accredited products from leading play brands and highlighting how everyday play builds real-world skills.

Learn more: www.MESHhelps.org/chuckecheese

In addition, we’re working with a network of parent, educator, and play-based influencers and bloggers getting MESH-Accredited products into their hands to share authentic, everyday moments of play with their audiences throughout the month. These boxes include products from The Calm Caterpillar, Goliath, MAGNA-TILES, Makedo, MindWare, Plus-Plus, and Smart Toys & Games.

Follow us on Instagram: @MESHhelps

The goal is simple: meet families where they already are and show how everyday play builds skills of resilience.

How has the industry responded to this initiative? 

The response has been incredible! Companies across the toy and game industry stepped up to provide products directly to libraries, helping ensure families have access to hands-on, meaningful play experiences. That level of support makes a big difference—not just for the campaign, but for the communities it reaches.

Why is this moment important for the toy and game industry?

Families are looking for more than just entertainment—they’re looking for ways to support their children’s well-being.

This is an opportunity for the industry to meet that need in a way that’s authentic to what it already does best. Toys and games are already building these skills—this is about making that impact more visible and intentional.

What’s next for MESH Helps?

Continuing to build momentum.

We’re focused on expanding awareness, growing the number of MESH-Accredited products, and creating more opportunities to connect play with real-world impact whether that’s through initiatives like Play for Resilience™ or new ways to support families, educators, therapists, and others directly.

We’re also continuing to invite companies across the toy and game industry to submit products for MESH Accreditation, helping more families easily identify toys and games that support children’s mental, emotional, and social health through play.

Learn more: www.MESHhelps.org/accreditation

Any final thoughts for the toy and game industry?

Resilience isn’t something kids are born with—it’s something they build. And play is one of the most powerful ways to do it.