Today’s playground will provide more than 2,000 children in Anaheim with a safe place to play. Planning for the playground began at a design day event held in January. Children from Schweitzer Elementary School and local community leaders met with organizers from Disney and KaBOOM! to design their dream playground. The children’s drawings were then used to create the final playground design.

“Parks are vital to the health and social infrastructure in Anaheim,” said Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait.  “Simply put, parks are fun.  Parks are natural settings for children and their parents to spend more time together, and parks provide opportunities so we can know our neighbors better.  On behalf of the City of Anaheim, our thanks to KaBOOM!, Disney and the Y for their continued investment in our City.  I look forward to watching our residents enjoy the new play equipment and the new revitalized park setting at Schweitzer Park.”

“This collaborative project embodies the Y’s focus on youth development, healthy living and social responsibility,” said Paul Andresen, president and CEO of the Anaheim Family YMCA. “This is the third playground we’ve worked on since 2011, and it shows how the power of collaboration can create lasting opportunities for youth and families to be healthy and active together.”

“Every child deserves to have a great place to play and we’re thrilled to continue our work with Disney in striving toward that goal,” said Darell Hammond, KaBOOM! founder & CEO. “Thanks to the efforts from Disney, KaBOOM!, the City of Anaheim and the Anaheim Family YMCA, we moved one step closer to the KaBOOM! vision of a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America.”

Since 1996, KaBOOM! has used its innovative community-build model to bring together community interests and business to construct more than 2,200 new places to play across North America.  The new playground is one of dozens made possible with support from Disney and is an extension of Disney Magic of Healthy Living, an initiative that partners with parents to inspire kids to lead healthier lifestyles. By the end of 2013, Disney’s support will bring the magic of play to more than 50,000 kids and families.

“For more than 60 years, Walt Disney Imagineering has been dreaming up and creating magical places for families to come and play together,” said Craig Russell, Chief Design and Delivery Executive for Walt Disney Imagineering. “We are excited to participate in this KaBOOM playground build along with our colleagues from the Disneyland Resort and our community partners to help create even more places for families to have fun.”

# # #

City of Anaheim
The City of Anaheim, founded in 1857, is one of the nation’s premier municipalities and is one of California’s most populous cities.  Anaheim covers 50 square miles with more than 343,000 residents and more than 2,950 City employees.  The municipal corporation’s annual budget is $1.5 billion.  Anaheim supports a thriving business community with companies such as Carl Karcher Enterprises, Inc., L-3 Communications, Pacific Sunwear, and Disneyland Resort.  Successful sports franchises call Anaheim home, including Angels Baseball, Anaheim Ducks, the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team, the 2012 Olympic Games Silver Medal winning U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team, and the Professional Arena Soccer League Anaheim Bolts.  Anaheim also boasts world-class meeting and entertainment venues with the Anaheim Convention Center, LEED-certified and the largest on the west coast, Honda Center, City National Grove of Anaheim, Anaheim GardenWalk, and Angel Stadium of Anaheim.  In addition, Anaheim embraces its vibrant cultural arts community, including the world-renowned Anaheim Ballet.  Annually, Anaheim welcomes millions of visitors to the city, truly making it where the world comes to live, work and play. For more information, please visit www.anaheim.net.

Anaheim Family YMCA
The Y is a cause-driven organization focused on Youth Development, Healthy Living and Social Responsibility. The Anaheim Family YMCA was founded in 1911 and currently impacts 15,200 youth, teens and adults annually in 55 program sites across the greater Anaheim area. YMCA programs span from early childhood education, after-school, youth sports, swim, summer camps, summer learning and healthy living. For more information about the Anaheim Family YMCA’s programs and resources please visit www.anaheimymca.org.

Disneyland Resort
Located on approximately 500 acres in Anaheim, Calif., the Disneyland Resort features two spectacular theme parks – Disneyland (the original Disney theme park) and the newly reimagined Disney California Adventure park – plus the Downtown Disney District comprised of unique dining, entertainment and shopping experiences. The Resort’s three hotels are the 948-room Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, the 969-room Disneyland Hotel and the 481-room Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel. With 25,000 Cast Members, the Disneyland Resort is Orange County’s largest employer and generates $4.7 billion for the Southern California economy. The Resort has welcomed more than 600 million guests since opening on July 17, 1955. For detailed information about the Disneyland Resort, please visit www.disneyland.com.

KaBOOM!
KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to saving play. Children today spend less time playing outdoors than any previous generation, a fact that is having disastrous consequences on their health, achievement levels, and overall well-being. To fight this play deficit, social entrepreneur Darell Hammond founded non-profit KaBOOM! in 1996 in Washington, D.C. with a vision of creating a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. Since then, KaBOOM! has mapped over 90,000 places to play, built more than 2,200 playgrounds, and successfully advocated for play policies in hundreds of cities across the country. KaBOOM! also provides communities with online tools to self-organize and take action to support play on both a local and national level. Hammond chronicles the founding of the organization and the importance of the cause of play in his The New York Times Best Seller KaBOOM!: A Movement to Save Play, now out in paperback. The book details how businesses and communities can work together to save play for children across the country. All author proceeds support KaBOOM!. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., KaBOOM! also has offices in Chicago and San Mateo, Calif. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org.

“Heroes Work Here. Employ excellence. Hire veterans.”

KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 13, 2012 – Today at The Walt Disney Company’s (NYSE: DIS) Annual Shareholder meeting in Kansas City, President and Chief Executive Officer Robert A. Iger announced Heroes Work Here, a new company-wide initiative to hire, train and support returning veterans. The new program continues Disney’s long history of respect and appreciation for the U.S. Armed Forces by expanding the company’s commitment to recognize and honor the sacrifice and service of these men and women.

As part of the initiative, Disney will provide at least 1,000 jobs and career opportunities for returning U.S. veterans over the next three years, support military families and veterans during their transition into civilian life, and launch a national public awareness campaign to encourage all employers across the U.S. to hire veterans.

In addition to providing career opportunities for veterans, Disney will also invest in select non-profit organizations that provide training and other support services.  Through the Disney VoluntEARS program, employees will also engage in service projects with veterans’ organizations in communities around the country. The public awareness campaign, featuring veterans currently employed in various businesses across The Walt Disney Company, will highlight their value, encourage companies to hire these highly skilled men and women, and direct them to the Joining Forces initiative for more information.

Mr. Iger debuted the first spot at the conference, which can be viewed here:  http://di.sn/HeroesWorkHere

“As a new generation of America’s military men and women transition into civilian life, we are increasing our commitment and support for these modern day heroes,” said Mr. Iger.  “It’s a measure of our respect for how much they have sacrificed on our behalf, and our sincere gratitude for their extraordinary contributions to this country.”

He added, “The military values of honor, integrity, commitment, and courage, along with the skills and experience they’ve gained through their service, make veterans incredibly valuable employees for any company.”

Heroes Work Here includes recruitment efforts across all segments of The Walt Disney Company, including ESPN, the Disney-ABC Television Group, Disney Consumer Products, The Walt Disney Studios, and Disney Parks and Resorts. The company will host career fairs and participate in events designed to showcase opportunities for returning military personnel.

Information about Heroes Work Here and available positions for veterans can be found at a dedicated section of the Disney Careers Website.

About Joining Forces:
First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden created Joining Forces to bring Americans together to recognize, honor and take action to support veterans and military families as they serve our country and throughout their lives. The initiative aims to educate, challenge, and spark action from all sectors of society to ensure veterans and military families have the support they have earned. The initiative focuses on key priority areas – employment, education, and wellness while raising awareness about the service, sacrifice, and needs of America’s veterans and military families.

About The Walt Disney Company:
The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise with five business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products and interactive media. Disney is a Dow 30 company and had annual revenues of about $40.9 billion in its last fiscal year.

#   #   #

Contact:
Zenia Mucha
(818) 560-5300

Anaheim, Calif. — Feb. 6 — With a pop of confetti and the drop of a banner from atop the CHOC Children’s construction site, Disneyland Resort today announced a $5 million donation to CHOC in support of the “Change CHOC, Change the World” comprehensive fund-raising campaign.

The gift includes sponsorship of the lobby in the seven-story tower, slated to open in spring 2013. The tower will house new pediatric services and will incorporate the most advanced design and safety principles of any children’s hospital in the country. Disney Imagineers are busy helping to create an inviting lobby space sprinkled with special Disney touches to complement the hospital’s serene healing environment for children and their families.

“Disney makes magical moments for millions of people every day, and it’s especially important for us to provide some Disney magic to support children during difficult times,” said George A. Kalogridis, Disneyland Resort president. “On behalf of our 22,000 cast members and their families, who live in this community, I am honored to show our support for CHOC as together we build a community where children have the best opportunity to be healthy and happy.”

“Thanks to this generous $5 million gift, our ‘Change CHOC, Change the World’ campaign has surpassed the $100 million milestone,” said Kim Cripe, president and CEO of CHOC Children’s. “We are extremely fortunate to enjoy such a strong partnership with the Disneyland Resort, who understands there’s no higher purpose to philanthropy than to change, to heal and to save the life of a child.”

During this morning’s celebration, Cripe and Kalogridis joined Mickey Mouse, Disney Ambassador Jolie Hales, and 14-year-old CHOC patient Tommy Conforti, CHOC’s Campaign Ambassador, to announce the gift.

Disneyland Resort and CHOC have been part of the fabric of Orange County since Walt Disney first formed a bond with the hospital in 1960, when he was appointed as one of the founding members of CHOC’s executive council. That support continues today with Disneyland Resort President George A. Kalogridis serving on CHOC’s board of directors. For the past 21 years, the Resort has played host to the hospital’s biggest annual fundraiser — the CHOC Walk in the Park — where 15,000 participants stroll through Disneyland and Disney California Adventure parks to raise funds. In 2011, walkers raised more than $1.5 million, which included $240,000 from the Disney VoluntEARS walk team and other Resort-sponsored initiatives. Many Disney cast members have a tradition of volunteering their time and talent at CHOC and our beloved characters often can be found visiting the hospital’s young patients.

The Walt Disney Company also has a long history of supporting children’s hospitals. Through Disney’s wishes and hospital programs, the company helps bring happiness, hope and laughter to those who need it most. This month, Disney is expanding its annual care-package program and sharing Disney products and experiences with more than 450 hospitals in the U.S., 110 children’s hospitals and hospices in Europe and 25 children’s hospitals in Latin America.

# # #

About CHOC: Named one of the best children’s hospitals by U.S. News & World Report (2011-2012) and a 2011 Leapfrog Top Hospital, CHOC Children’s is exclusively committed to the health and well-being of children through clinical expertise, advocacy, outreach and research that brings advanced treatment to pediatric patients. Affiliated with the University of California, Irvine, CHOC’s regional healthcare network includes two state-of-the-art hospitals in Orange and Mission Viejo, several primary and specialty care clinics, a pediatric residency program, and four centers of excellence – The CHOC Children’s Heart, Neuroscience, Orthopedic and Hyundai Cancer Institutes.  CHOC earned the Gold Level CAPE Award from the California Council of Excellence, the only children’s hospital in California to ever earn this distinction, and was awarded Magnet designation, the highest honor bestowed to hospitals for nursing excellence. Recognized for extraordinary commitment to high-quality critical care standards, CHOC’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) is the first in the United States to earn the Pediatric Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence.

About Disneyland Resort: Located on approximately 500 acres in Anaheim, Calif., the Disneyland Resort features two spectacular theme parks – Disneyland (the original Disney theme park) and Disney California Adventure park – plus the Downtown Disney District comprised of unique dining, entertainment and shopping experiences. The Resort’s three hotels are the 948-room Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, the 969-room Disneyland Hotel and the 481-room Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel. With 22,000 cast members, the Disneyland Resort is Orange County’s largest employer and generates $4.7 billion annually for the Southern California economy. The Resort has welcomed more than 600 million guests since opening on July 17, 1955. For detailed information about the Disneyland Resort, please visit Disneyland.com.

Contacts:
Disneyland Resort
Suzi Brown
(714) 781-4614
suzi.brown@disney.com

CHOC Children’s
Denise Almazan
714-532-8680
DAlmazan@choc.org

ANAHEIM, Calif. – December 19, 2011 -

Community called, we were listening,
At the ready, our smiles a glistening
Bringing holiday cheer,
And donating all year,
Giving is our way at Disneyland.

We gave away – record donations
To charities, and foundations
$13 million was contributed,
in So Cal it was distributed
Giving is our way at Disneyland.

For the kids cast members held a toy drive,
Led by the one and only Mickey Mouse
He said: Are you giving?
We said: Yes Mic,
Thousands to the Toys-for-Tots warehouse.

Our wish program —  we conspired,
By the children, we were inspired
With characters enchanted
550 wish trips granted,
Giving is our way at Disneyland.

At a park together we built a playground,
For Anaheim children it did please
Adopt-a-Family helped 700 people,
Marine families received lots of Christmas trees.

Ticket requests, came to fruition,
For nonprofits – theme park admission,
16 thousand donations,
to 4 thousand organizations,
Giving is our way at Disneyland.

The call for help, we were listenin’
VoluntEARs workin’ and whistlin’
85 thousand hours this year,
One hundred sixty events with our gear,
Giving is our way at Disneyland.

In the schools we helped to build art programs,
About 200 grants that we gave
College aid for 10 high school seniors,
Five thousand in tuition each will save.

To volunteer, the feeling’s thrilling,
Dreams at CHOC, we are a’ filling
At the CHOC Walk day,
Or holiday party to play,
Giving is our way at Disneyland.

Giving is our way at Disneyland.
Giving is our way at Disneyland.

###