The Walt Disney Company announced that it has opened a wardrobe warehouse for its employees who the fires around Los Angeles have impacted. This is one of many ways that Disney has been working to find ways to support its community and employees in the Los Angeles area during this terrible time.
Disney Live Entertainment invited employees, production crew, and their families who lost their homes this week to its wardrobe warehouse in North Hollywood to collect new or gently used clothes and shoes used in recent Disney film and television productions. This was offered at no cost.
“Most companies are not sitting on an entire warehouse full of wardrobe — some of which has been barely used, if it’s been used at all,” said Heidi Chong, Vice President of Production Shared Services for Disney Entertainment Television. “We really want to emphasize to the families: ‘If you come here, we’ve already organized everything for you. It’s all on display on the racks. You can find what you need.’ There are no limits to the amounts that people are getting; it’s really about what they need.”
Disney shared how Belen Buenrrostro, Manager, Asset Management, Disney Entertainment Television, jumped into action e-mailing her manager about opening the warehouse to those affected and said, “This might be a long shot, but can we make it happen?”
“The turnaround was so quick, but we had an outpouring of support,” Buenrrostro continued. “It was nice to see us all come together as a Disney family to help everybody.”
In order to make this happen, the effort required collaboration from across the company. Chong noted that “we involved a lot of teams to pull this event together quickly,” including Disney Entertainment Television, Human Resources, Global Security, communications, and some of the production teams.
Disney Entertainment Production spent the weekend working in the warehouse. By Monday, over 80 Disney VoluntEARS were on hand unpacking boxes. They sorted the items by size and style as they made ready to welcome those who needed support from the Disney community.
“Disney has been coordinating a lot of resources through our Employee Care & Support team,” said Chong. “We worked with that team to identify which families had been impacted and should be invited to this event.”
Cast Members and employees were invited to come to the warehouse via email earlier this week. They then registered online and selected their shopping window. If date or times didn’t/don’t work, or if they had an urgent need, accommodations were/are made to assist.
“We really want to make the experience as easy and friendly as possible,” Buenrrostro said. “We give everyone a rack and assign them a buddy shopper. We also set up a play area for the kids, where we stream Disney+ movies and offer games and snacks.”
Throughout the warehouse, there were quite a few different productions represented in the warehouse. This includes Genius: MLK/X, grown-ish, The Old Man, Station 19, UnPrisoned, and Wizards Beyond Waverly Place. This creates the opportunity for a wide variety of options for each Cast Member, employee, or family member in need who visits.
“It’s very heartwarming to see everybody find things they like,” Buenrrostro said. “We had one family that’s really into vintage clothing, and they were so excited that we offer more than just new, store-bought items.”
Buenrrostro noted that “we have tons of clothes” — over 250 racks, in fact, and were able to get another 50 racks in just a day.
This movement of support is one of many that are coming out of The Walt Disney Company. Last week it was announced that Disney will be donating $15 million to the initial fire relief efforts. As needs become more known and Cast Members feel more empowered, expect more efforts to materialize.
Chong shared that this particular event has been empowering for everyone.
“Everybody wants to participate and wants to help those around them, but it’s hard to know how,” she said. “This was very tangible. There was real work to do, whether that was packing bags or unboxing new clothing items, and today we’re seeing that make a real impact on individuals’ lives at a time when everything feels overwhelming.”
Chong said that this has been “something that’s made me feel really proud to be part of Disney — especially today.”
