Walt Disney World Resort is celebrating its Summer of Sharing. Part of this celebration has included surprising Florida nonprofit organizations with a $500,000 donation in Disney Grants. The surprise took place at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort during a special performance of the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue. This show is celebrating its 50th anniversary. With 50 years of making people smile through their entertainment and Disney being in Florida for over 50 years, it all seemed to make sense.
Disney Grants are monetary donations that are given to organizations that Walt Disney World wants to recognize for “bringing joy, happiness and magic to families.”
This year’s celebration and donations were especially magical with it taking place in Pioneer Hall. There was good food, good people, good entertainment, and even some strawberry shortcake.
The organizations that were honored all strive to make Florida a better place to live. These Disney Grants recipients have big plans to make positive changes for Florida students and families. Disney is supporting them as they do this. The organizations are:
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida
- Camp Boggy Creek
- Children’s Home Society of Florida
- Girl Scouts of Citrus Council
- Lift Orlando
- Marine Discovery Center
- Orlando Science Center
“These organizations enrich Central Florida in unique and vital ways. We are grateful for the positive change they inspire and want to help them do more of that,” said Rena Langley, Senior Vice President of Communications & Public Affairs at Walt Disney World.
The Disney Grants will fund these organizations in different ways. The impact will see these organizations strengthen Florida’s workforce, provide access to education, pioneer youth development programs and more. Here are a few examples of how the funds will be used:
- Camp Boggy Creek is a place where children with serious illnesses can step away from the “real world” and focus on having fun at no cost. With the grant, they plan to launch an “Arts for All” camp, where high school students with disabilities or serious illnesses can have a chance to learn and perform in a safe environment.
- Marine Discovery Center aims to make nature accessible to all through first-hand experiences. They will use the extra funding to offer students from land-locked counties in Central Florida opportunities to visit, learn and explore an ecosystem they may not have encountered before.
- Children’s Home Society of Florida not only helps students prepare for standardized tests like SATs and ACTs, they also help high school students who may not be able to visit college campuses take tours of their dream schools. They will continue to help make secondary education more attainable for local students through financial aid paperwork support and STEM summer programs.
These are just some examples of the good things that are being done by organizations that get support through Disney Grants. In the coming months, Walt Disney World will continue to share more about the good things that are being done through its support in Florida as it celebrates its Summer of Sharing.
What do you think about this special evening and event? What do you think of the Summer of Sharing? share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
