From the Disney Parks Blog and written by: Kayla Springmyer
We’re so excited to be giving in a big way this holiday season! During this special time of year when people gather with loved ones, we’re donating food from our kitchens to our communities, sharing Thanksgiving meals as part of our ongoing commitment to making a positive impact all year long.
We believe that everything we do to make magic can also make a difference. Check out some of the ways we have been giving all around the world this holiday season:
Over at Disneyland Resort, Disney cast members honored the spirit of giving through Disney VoluntEARS events throughout Orange County. In fact, to celebrate Family Volunteer Day on Nov. 18, more than 200 Disney VoluntEARS filled boxes with food at the OC Food Bank. Leading up to Thanksgiving, Disney VoluntEARS from Disneyland Resort also participated in various projects supporting the local community with the SoCal nonprofit We Give Thanks. Yesterday on Thanksgiving Day, Disney VoluntEARS dedicated their time to continue their support of We Give Thanks at Honda Center, providing Thanksgiving meals to members of the community.
At Walt Disney World Resort, the culinary team continued a tradition 25 years in the making and cooked up 1,000 meals for residents at the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida and Harbor House of Central Florida with Disney VoluntEARS serving those meals to residents on Thanksgiving Day. The team even sprinkled extra special magic at The Coalition this year, spending time with families at the Youth Center decorating some of the sweet treats that can be found across the resort.
Disney World cast and their families also participated in CANstruction Orlando, an annual event that brings companies across Central Florida together to build larger than life displays entirely out of non-perishable food items to raise awareness for hunger. This year, they created an 8-foot-tall recreation of Orange Bird out of 11,000 cans of non-perishable food which was donated to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida.
Walt Disney World VoluntEARS were also out in the community working alongside organizations like Heart of Florida United Way to pack and distribute thousands of meal kits for families in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties.
Here at Disney, we’re dedicated to giving back to local communities all around the world. Every week, Disneyland Paris will be donating food to local charities, a continuation of its year-long food donation program. In September, nearly 300 Disney VoluntEARS from Hong Kong Disneyland Resort worked with Rise Against Hunger, packing more than 86,000 food packets and donating them to the local community during the holiday season. Shanghai Disney Resort also began donating non-perishable food in October as an effort to reduce food waste and leverage high quality surplus food to bring Disney magic to community members in need.
Our food giving is also reaching the open seas! Disney Cruise Line is investing in the Bahamas Feeding Network and their efforts to feed families in Nassau, Abaco and Eleuthera this holiday season. Crew members are donating their time at local nonprofits like Kitchens for Good in San Diego, Galveston Food Bank in Texas and Children’s Hunger Network in Brevard County, Florida. Disney Vacation Club cast members are also donating nearly 500 food items to the Deep Well Project to be distributed to families on Hilton Head Island!
Giving is at the heart of everything Disney does. To learn more about how we give back during the holiday season and all year long, go to https://disneyconnect.com/dpep/social-responsibility/.
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