In the wake of devastating wildfires impacting the Los Angeles area, teams across The Walt Disney Company have been dedicated to supporting the community and their fellow employees and cast members.
Many across the Los Angeles region have lost homes, belongings, and access to basic necessities, leaving them in urgent need of support. Disney VoluntEARS are working to collect essential items and make them available to families and individuals impacted by the wildfires with the help of community organizations, including Shelter Partnership, Helping Hands, and LAUSD.
“Since the moment this disaster hit, our employees have been asking what they can do to help,” said Lisa Haines, senior vice president, Corporate Social Responsibility, The Walt Disney Company. “The Disney VoluntEARS team quickly mobilized to put on one of the largest disaster relief drives our company has done, collecting more than 200,000 items from employees and Cast Members across the company. This outpouring of support is just one of the many ways we are coming together to help those who have lost so much.”
Here are a few of the donation drives throughout the region where cast members and employees have donated items and volunteered their time in support of the Los Angeles community.
Donation Drive at The Walt Disney Studios Lot
Disney hosted a Los Angeles Area Fire Relief Donation Drive at The Walt Disney Studios Lot in Burbank and packaged over 127,000 essential items for those affected. Nearly 1,000 cast members and employees from across Southern California donated new items and volunteered to count, sort, and pack items such as hygiene essentials, baby supplies, games and toys. The teams at Fox, Hulu, and ABC satellite offices also collected items to contribute to the larger drive.
“Disney’s magic is in our people, and seeing the Disney VoluntEARS in action pulls at my heartstrings. I love that we’re providing a little bit of comfort and happiness to families who have been impacted by the fires,” said Kym Belzer, senior manager, Corporate Social Responsibility, The Walt Disney Company. “Events like this give an outlet for employees to be a part of something, especially rebuilding the lives of the families who have been impacted by the fires.”
Leading by example, executives and their teams came to help alongside hundreds of Disney VoluntEARS.
From left to right: Rachel Hutter, EVP, Operations, Disney Entertainment, Studios with her team; Lisa Haines, SVP, Corporate Social Responsibility with Sonia Coleman, Chief Human Resources Officer
From left to right: Josh D’Amaro, Chairman, Disney Experiences; Lylle Breier, EVP, Partnerships, Promotions, Synergy & Events, Disney Entertainment Studios Marketing with Ken Potrock, President, Major Events Integration, The Walt Disney Company.
Jimmy Kimmel Live Donation Center
Jimmy Kimmel Live organized the “Jimmy Kimmel Live Donation Center” on its Hollywood backlot to collect essential resources for those impacted by the LA fires. Staff, friends, and fans came together to collect nearly 70,000 much-needed items during the week-long drive.
“[The wildfires have] been a sickening, shocking, awful experience. But it has also been, in a lot of ways, a beautiful experience. Because once again, we see our fellow men and women coming together to support each other,” Jimmy Kimmel said in his monologue following the start of the fires.
The Kimmel team brought the donations to a pop-up distribution center for those with immediate needs in Altadena. At the end of the week, two five-ton trucks of donations were delivered to a soundstage at Disney’s Burbank Studio lot, where Disney VoluntEARS counted and sorted the items at the donation drive event for additional distribution.
Disneyland Resort Donation Drive
In the Disneyland Resort spirit, more than 60 Anaheim-based Disney VoluntEARS, including Disney Ambassador of Disneyland Resort Raul Aquino Rojas, collected and sorted essential items donated by hundreds of Disneyland Resort cast members to support those impacted in the local community.
“I’m so proud to see our Disneyland Resort cast members come together to provide relief for the communities affected by the fires,” Rojas said. “Every contribution, no matter how small, helps rebuild lives — reminding us all that together, we can overcome anything.”
The event also brought teams together, as some Disneyland Resort cast members were personally impacted by the fires. One cast member, Jennifer Santillan, manager, Guest Talent & Imagination Campus, was able to reunite at the event with a fellow cast member who lost her home.
“You want to always think of a way to help, a way to think outside the box and help those that are in need, and the best way is to take action. Today, I get to take action in helping those that will need these items, need some joy and need one less thing to worry about,” Santillan said.
By the end of the event, Disneyland Resort had collected more than 50,000 essential items and supplies to contribute to wildfire relief efforts.
Volunteering is an important and enduring part of Disney’s DNA, and Disney VoluntEARS have collectively contributed more than 13 million hours of service to their communities since the program’s inception in 1983. To learn more about Disney VoluntEARS and the company’s Los Angeles fire relief efforts, please visit impact.disney.com.