Disney Cast Members Pen Postcards of Thanks to U.S. Troops
posted on November 25th, 2011 by Kathleen Prihoda, Manager of Media Relations, Walt Disney World Resort
As I think about what I’m thankful for this holiday season, I’m grateful to those who protect our nation so we have the freedom enjoy this special time with our friends and families.
Recognizing the efforts of the armed forces has become a year-round mission for some Disney VoluntEARS, who send notes of encouragement to U.S. troops just to let them know how much they are appreciated.
Founded by a Disneyland Resort cast member in 1995, Operation Uplift was inspired by a letter from a soldier serving in Operation Desert Storm. That note said the troops didn’t receive much mail, but when they did, it meant the world to them because they knew people back home cared.
Since that time, Disney VoluntEARS around the country have sent more than 90,000 postcards of support and thanks to servicemen and servicewomen serving domestically and overseas.
Those who participate in Operation Uplift say they find great reward in sharing the magic of Disney with military men and women who are serving far from friends and family.
While it might seem like a small gesture, it’s nice to know that these patriotic postcards offer a salute with a smile and brighten many a day.
Disneyland Resort Engages in National Family Volunteer Day
posted on November 22nd, 2011 by Kevin Rafferty, Jr., Communications Specialist, Disneyland Resort
Last Saturday, Disney VoluntEARS celebrated National Family Volunteer Day by helping assemble 26,341 food boxes at the Orange County Food Bank for local seniors in need this holiday season.
That is 421 tons of food – a record for both the amount of food and the most food boxes assembled at the Orange County Food Bank in one day!
Created six years ago in partnership with the Disneyland Resort, the event has grown into one of the largest National Family Volunteer Day events in the country, inspiring employees from companies across Orange County to volunteer with their families.
More than 1,200 volunteers participated this year, including Disneyland Resort cast member Mary Cobb and her family, who are hard at work in this photo!
Wildlife Wednesdays: Disney VoluntEARS Create Magic (Naturally!) During Florida Coastal Cleanup
posted on November 16th, 2011 by Jackie Ogden, Ph.D., Vice President, Animals, Science and Environment, Disney Parks
More than 300 Disney VoluntEARS and their families and friends created magic this past Saturday. They made nearly 2,000 pounds of trash along four miles of coastline in Brevard County, Fla., disappear! Okay, so the magic consisted of spending several hours scouring the beach for trash big and small – finds included lots of cigarette butts, plastic wrappers, fishing line and even a broken surf board – but the result was certainly magical both for the wildlife who call the coastline and ocean home and the people who visit the beach to enjoy nature. From the squeals of delight when a bottle cap, food wrapper or other bit of plastic was found, you would have thought this dedicated cleanup crew had found Captain Jack Sparrow’s buried treasure!
The VoluntEARS from the Walt Disney World Resort and Disney Cruise Line, who were taking part in the International Coastal Cleanup, worked alongside partners from the Ocean Conservancy, Keep Brevard Beautiful, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Canaveral Port Authority. We were especially pleased this year to be joined by “bigs” and “littles” from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Florida as part of the Disney’s Friends for Change program, which encourages kids, families and friends to do community projects together, including taking action to connect with and protect nature.
Did you know that it’s the little bits of trash that are most dangerous to wildlife? Sea turtles, birds and fish often mistake them for food. Here at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, at the Wildlife Tracking Center in Conservation Station, you can hear the story of Little Crush, a rescued sea turtle that came to us with a belly full of bits of plastic. Little Crush was successfully rehabilitated and returned to the ocean.
Participating in a local beach or waterway cleanup is a great way to protect wildlife and nature—and ensure that your area’s natural wonders will inspire and nurture future generations. We all can help too by reducing waste, using reusables instead of disposables, recycling everything possible and putting trash in the proper receptacles.
For more on Disney’s environmental and conservation efforts, visit www.disney.com/conservation.
Disney Feeds Campaign to End Hunger in Central Florida
posted on November 10th, 2011 by Kathleen Prihoda, Manager of Media Relations, Walt Disney World Resort
With a gift perfect for Thanksgiving, Walt Disney World Resort delivered some special bushels of green yesterday to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida as part of ongoing efforts to help local families in need.
Minnie Mouse, joined by Disney VoluntEARS, gave $500,000 to assist Second Harvest in its “Building Solutions to Hunger” campaign. Due to a record level of demand for its services, Second Harvest needs to build a larger facility so it can accept and distribute significantly more food throughout the community.
In addition to the funds, Disney pledged 20,000 pounds of fresh produce to the organization during the next year. This is on top of the ongoing Disney Harvest contributions, which totaled nearly 360,000 pounds of food in 2010.
Now in its 20th year, Disney Harvest collects excess prepared and unserved food from locations throughout Walt Disney World Resort and delivers it to Second Harvest.
Donations range from salad to filet mignon and help feed more than 1,000 local kids a week.
Watch the video to learn more.
Disney Cruise Line Delivers Books to Children in The Bahamas
posted on November 3rd, 2011 by Rebecca Peddie, Manager of Public Affairs at Disney Cruise Line
Watching children squeal with delight as they see Mickey Mouse, many for the first time, is an experience that never gets old.
Recently, Captain Mickey Mouse teamed up with Disney VoluntEARS to surprise and delight students in the community surrounding Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay. The group visited schools to deliver an educational activity book created by Disney, in partnership with local educators and conservationists in The Bahamas.
Utilizing colorful illustrations, interactive puzzles and games, the books are designed to teach children about conservation and show ways they can make a difference for the environment…starting right in their own backyard.
Seeing the children greet Mickey Mouse and dive right in to using the books definitely brought a smile to my face, which you can experience for yourself in the photo below. The event was just one part of a multi-year Disney project combining scientific research with community-wide education to engage and inspire others to make a difference for the planet.
Here’s a video recap of the book delivery, along with a peek at some of the in-classroom activities led by our Disney VoluntEARS. Not a bad way to spend a morning in The Bahamas. What are you doing to get involved and help conserve in your local community?
SEA the Difference a CAN Makes? Disney VoluntEARS Participate in CANstruction Competition
posted on October 12th, 2011 by Betsy Sanchez, Manager of Media Relations, Disneyland Resort
Disney VoluntEARS recently participated in the 4th annual CANstruction Orange County competition.
The team used nearly 5,400 cans of food to create “SEA the Difference a CAN Makes,” which featured Flounder and Sebastian from Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.” Nearly 4,200 pounds of food including canned corn, black beans and juice pouches went into completing the structure.
CANstruction, a charity committed to ending world hunger, holds competitions around the nation in which teams compete by designing and building structures made entirely out of canned foods. Those canned goods are then donated to local charities – in this case, to the Orange County Food Bank.
Each year, CANstruction Orange County arranges for organizations to gather at South Coast Plaza and build several sculptures in conjunction with the Festival of Children. This year’s 14 participating teams donated nearly 70,000 canned items. To learn more visit www.canstructionoc.org.
Take a look at more ways Disney VoluntEARS have reached out to the local communities:
- Disney Gives Students Back-to-School Support
- Disney VoluntEARS Help Build KaBOOM! Playground in Anaheim
- Disney Cast Members Earmark $686,950 for Central Florida Nonprofits
Disney Gives Students Back-to-School Support
posted on August 22nd, 2011 by Kathleen Prihoda, Manager of Media Relations, Walt Disney World Resort
Busy in back-to-school mode? I certainly have been and so have Walt Disney World Resort cast members. They’ve collected a record 2.1 million school supplies during their annual back-to-school supply drive. The items, ranging from pencils to notebook paper, are classroom essentials that will help thousands of Central Florida students start the school year off right.
Last week, Disney VoluntEARS distributed nearly 14,000 backpacks filled with 1,810,000 million school supplies to 19 schools and community centers throughout Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Polk and Lake counties.
As part of these efforts, VoluntEARS teamed up with S.T.A.R.S. (Supplies to Assist Our Students) of West Orange to welcome families at Meet-the-Teacher events at several local public elementary schools and give out backpacks filled with school supplies. View highlights below.
Additionally, VoluntEARS gave approximately 377,815 school supplies to A Gift For Teaching’s free store so that local teachers can put them to use in their classrooms.
While these new school supplies may seem like a small gesture, they make a world of difference to the students who are receiving them in a time of record need in Central Florida.
Disney VoluntEARS Help Build KaBOOM! Playground in Anaheim
posted on June 27th, 2011 by George A. Kalogridis, President, Disneyland Resort
We recently told you about a new KaBOOM! playground at Edison Park in Anaheim that Disney VoluntEARS, our partners and local community were setting out to build. I’m happy to report after three days, with the help of 320 volunteers, three tractor trailers of mulch, 483 bags of cement, a few blisters and eventually a bunch of very happy children, the project is now complete!
I couldn’t be more proud of the work we accomplished. This KaBOOM! playground build reflects our strong beliefs at the Disneyland Resort – the importance of community, partnerships, family interaction and promoting an active and healthy lifestyle for our children. It’s rewarding to know more than 1,200 Anaheim children now have a safe place to play, be active and enjoy time with their families.
The build not only included a playground designed and voted on by the kids, but five fitness stations and a learning garden at nearby Thomas Edison Elementary School, providing students an opportunity to stay active and eat healthy. Disney Parks Chairman Tom Staggs and his executive team joined in the fun, helping to paint a mural and revamping an afterschool program building for local Boys and Girls Club children.
Thank you to all of the neighborhood families who helped build a better environment for their children. To the city of Anaheim, Thomas Edison Elementary School, the Anaheim Family YMCA and KaBOOM!, thank you for your extraordinary partnerships and efforts. Anaheim is a better place because of all of you.
Here is a video that shows just how this project came to life – check it out!
Designed by Kids, Built by Disney VoluntEARS!
posted on June 16th, 2011 by Betsy Sanchez, Manager of Media Relations, Disneyland Resort
This Saturday, nearly 300 volunteers from the local community, Disney, the city of Anaheim, Thomas Edison Elementary School and Anaheim Family YMCA will kick-off the building of a new KaBOOM! playground at Edison Park in Anaheim and plant a new learning garden at nearby Thomas Edison Elementary School.
The new playground, which will be built over the course of two days, was designed based on drawings created by the children it will serve. After the drawings were submitted, KaBOOM! created three design concepts and allowed the children to vote on which playground they wanted for their park.
This new playground will provide more than 1,200 children in a local Anaheim community a safe place to play, while the learning garden at nearby Thomas Edison Elementary School will teach them how to grow vegetables – furthering their knowledge about healthy food and nutrition.
In 2011, Disney is contributing more than $1 million to help KaBOOM! build playgrounds and learning gardens in 13 communities across the U.S. We are proud to work alongside our communities and give our kids the opportunity to play, be active, enjoy time with family and learn ways to be healthy at an early age.
Our final build day is June 22, so check back in a couple of weeks to watch how the project came to life!
Disney Cast Members Earmark $686,950 for Central Florida Nonprofits
posted on June 15th, 2011 by Kathleen Prihoda, Manager of Media Relations, Walt Disney World Resort
Disney cast members are well-known for providing legendary guest service, which is admirable, but I find their compassionate spirit to be equally impressive. Outside of work, many of my fellow colleagues are making a difference in their communities through the Disney VoluntEARS program.
From coaching Little League to caring for rescued animals, Disney VoluntEARS gave more than 228,000 hours of their time and talents last year for the benefit of everyone in Central Florida.
This month, in recognition of these efforts, The Walt Disney Company is giving a total of $686,950 to the charities and causes that Walt Disney World cast members care about most.
Approximately 887 Walt Disney World VoluntEARS are being honored with EARS to You grants, which are financial contributions of up to $1,000 for the charity of their choice. Disney dollars will go toward 394 local nonprofits representing a wide array of worthy causes. Top recipients include local chapters of the American Cancer Society, Give Kids the World and the SPCA of Central Florida.
In keeping with this idea of gifts that keep on giving, Walt Disney World had some special surprises in store yesterday as it recognized its top VoluntEARS with coveted awards and charitable contributions.
High honors were given to Judy Hughes as 2010 VoluntEAR of the Year and Disney’s Theme Park Merchandise Team as the 2010 VoluntEAR Team of the Year. Both received $2,500 cash donations which they chose to give to the Girls Scouts of Citrus Council and the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. Check out the video below to see the highlights.
Congratulations Disney VoluntEARS – you rock! Cheers to you who earned EARS to You!
