Disney Friends for Change

Friends for Change is a Disney initiative to inspire kids and their families to make a lasting, positive impact on the world by showing how even small actions can add up to big changes; these changes ultimately help people, communities, and the planet. 

Friends for Change brings together our company’s assets, including media and talent, to inspire social action. Through its website, Disney Friends for Change provides kids and families with a set of easy-to-understand, fun, and creative action steps, access to activities and events, and action kits to make a difference. These action steps vary from large to small—from volunteering at a local food bank, to organizing a beach clean up or carpool, to starting a “kindness patrol” or Friends for Change Club in a school or community.  Although these activities may vary, they are united by an overarching emphasis on fostering compassion, conservation, and creativity. 

The objective of Friends for Change is not only to create a global network of youth—committed to helping people, communities, and the planet—but to positively impact the way in which they view themselves. By encouraging kids to work together to help others and allowing them to see the results of these efforts, Friends for Change builds confidence, empowerment, and connections among participating youth. Disney is uniquely positioned to lead this type of initiative because we have the on-air and online assets, and passionate youth talent to make helping others attainable and fun for our most promising change-agents—our kids. 

As part of the program, Disney donates $1 million dollars annually to fund projects all around the globe ranging from educational and community programs to species and habitat protection.  Friends for Change currently has more than 4 million actions taking place from kids in 33 countries throughout Europe, Latin America, Japan, India, and China, and has granted over $4.5 million to 53 projects in 30 countries.

Friends for Change also collaborates with Youth Service America, awarding grants to youth-led service projects around the world. During 2012, youth ages 5-18 in the United States, Latin America, and the United Kingdom are eligible to apply for a $1,000 grant towards their service learning project to help make a lasting, positive change in the world. To date, Friends for Change Grants have funded 195 projects serving more than 500,000 community members.

Friends for Change’s in-school edition, Disney’s Planet Challenge, encourages teachers and students in grades 3-8 to take on project-based environmental learning with special emphasis on community involvement. The program is built around an educationally-sound curriculum that meets national and state guideline requirements, engaging over 200 classrooms across the United States. In 2011, winning projects focused on preserving wetlands in their local communities.

Visit the Friends for Change sites around the world:

• Friends for Change in United States and Canada
• Friends for Change in Europe
• Friends for Change in Brazil
• Friends for Change in Latin America