| DisneyHand,
worldwide outreach for The Walt Disney Company, is dedicated to
making the dreams of families and children a reality through public
service initiatives, community outreach and volunteerism in the
areas of learning, compassion, the arts and the environment.
In 2003, DisneyHand provided more than $150 million in monetary
contributions, in-kind support and public service airtime to charitable
causes. Following are just a few of the outreach efforts taking
place every day of the year in partnership with Disney businesses
around the globe.
Disney VoluntEARS give more than 350,000 hours a year to the communities
where they live and work. The 2003 Disney Family Movie Night in
Hong Kong was the largest Disney VoluntEAR event ever hosted outside
the United States. Co-sponsored by the Hong Kong government and
Hong Kong Disneyland, this show and screening of The Lion King
for 30,000 people helped bring the community together in the wake
of the SARS crisis.
DisneyHand’s learning programs focus on making learning both
engaging and effective by supporting teachers, schools and the children
they serve. Since 1989, the DisneyHand Teacher Awards have honored
the country’s most outstanding and creative teachers. Wayne
Brady announced this year’s Teacher of the Year, selected
from the more than 150,000 teachers nominated. The DisneyHand Reading
Together program partners with Disney Publishing to provide children
in need with books of their own through non-profit First Book and
shares Reading Together tips and programming on Playhouse Disney,
Radio Disney and Disney.com.
During its Season of Compassion, DisneyHand partners with Buena
Vista Home Entertainment, Disney Consumer Products and Starlight
Children’s Foundation® to provide
everything from videos to games and toys to patients in children’s
hospitals around the world. DisneyHand is committed to fulfilling
the Disney-related wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses,
from theme park vacations to once-in-a-lifetime experiences. In
partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation®,
Walt Disney Pictures made the dreams of four wish children come
true by casting them in Freaky Friday, starring Jamie Lee
Curtis and Lindsay Lohan. The children’s wish experiences
included walk-on roles, complete with limousines, wardrobe and a
trip to the film’s premiere.
As part of ABC Cable Networks Group’s public affairs initiative,
“Learning Together!,” Disney Channel and DisneyHand
have brought the “Imagineer That!” program to schools
around the country to encourage children’s creativity. This
program is in addition to DisneyHand’s support of local arts
organizations, including Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles,
and the arts-related messages aired as part of the “ABC A Better
Community” public service campaign.
Related Links:
DisneyHand
Homepage
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