The Disney Parks Blog sent their gratitude to the cast and community partners who helped them make a difference last year – with food and financial donations, gifts of books and toys for children in need, Disney VoluntEARS events.
What’s Happening:
- In 2021, Disney teams around the world sought ways to address food insecurity in their communities. They reached the milestone of donating more than $14.6 million worth of food to hunger-relief organizations globally since March 2020 – the equivalent of more than 2.1 million meals!
- Walt Disney World Resort donated $500,000 to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida – which was among the $3 million the resort granted in honor of its 50th anniversary to important causes in the community.
- Disneyland Resort provided more than 90,000 meals to the Orange County community in 2021.
- Disneyland Paris has donated nearly 400 tons of food during the year – everything from fresh fruits and vegetables, to baked treats and sweets, to personal pizzas.
- Hong Kong Disneyland joined with Foodlink Foundation to launch Disney Meal Box Express. Since June 2021, the program has provided an estimated 12,000 healthy, freshly cooked meal boxes to those most impacted by the pandemic across four Hong Kong districts. The donations are prepared every Thursday by more than 200 Disney VoluntEARS and the Food & Beverage team.
- In 2021 alone, Consumer Products, Games and Publishing donated over 4.8 million books to First Book and other nonprofits to inspire the next generation of storytellers – including fan favorites such as Star Wars: The High Republic: A Test of Courage, the action-packed Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, and the family-friendly, wildly entertaining Weird But True series. In addition to igniting a lifelong love of reading and storytelling, educators report that First Book resources can help students develop confidence in their own abilities and promote cross-cultural awareness.
- After gifting one million face coverings and donating $1 million Medshare last year, we also distributed over 170,000 shopDisney holiday-themed face masks to schools and other learning institutions.
- Disney continued a 70-year tradition of support for Toys for Tots with the launch of the 2021 Disney Ultimate Toy Drive, starting with a $500,000 donation to Toys for Tots. Between Disney toy contributions and toy collections across the US, together we’ve collected more than 135,000 toys for families and children in need.
- Disney also searched the nation to find 50 amazing Disney Magic Makers and reward them with a trip to Walt Disney World Resort in celebration of its 50th anniversary and a one-year subscription to Disney+. These incredible Disney Magic Makers showed us that we all have the power to make a difference: the friendship of two women in Ohio sparked a vaccine revolution for elderly and at-risk members of their community; local heroes in Utah, Illinois and California showed that the good deeds of one person can affect an entire community; an elementary school principal inspired a fundraising campaign that raised enough for 5 students to receive full academic scholarships to their local HBCU; a high schooler in Ohio and a college student in Rhode Island proved that you can bring awareness to the causes you care about at any age; and in celebration of the inaugural World Princess Week, Disney discovered women from all corners of the nation whose acts of service embody the temperament of a Disney hero.
- Cast members at Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa have kept the aloha spirit alive for the Oahu community, and we recognized Nate Rhodes as the first-ever cast member Magic Maker for helping the Boys and Girls Club Hale Pono Clubhouse in ‘Ewa Beach, Hawai’i. Nate gathered fellow Aulani cast members to volunteer and help the club offer daily meal distribution for club member families as well as programming and educational resources. When Nate noticed the club’s landscaping needed maintenance, he helped get lawn equipment donated and volunteered to trim and mow the grass.
As Disney reflects on a year of giving back and celebrating the donation of more than $52 million in food, products, and supplies since March 2020, we’d like to share a heartfelt thank you with all those who helped us make a difference in 2021, and who brought hope and inspiration to their communities in ways big and small!