This weekend, actors Tim Allen and Tom Hanks helped The Walt Disney Company kick off its annual Disney Toy Delivery—a part of the Disney Team of Heroes philanthropic initiative—at AdventHealth for Children in Orlando, Florida. During the special visit, Allen and Hanks, who, respectively, lend their voices to Buzz Lightyear and Woody in the upcoming film Toy Story 4, distributed toys to kids and families and helped bring joy to patients, who also enjoyed photo opportunities with Toy Story characters during the event.
Every year, The Walt Disney Company delivers to children’s hospitals a pallet’s worth of toys, games, books and comics that they are able to share throughout the year with their patients. The items that are included in the toy deliveries are specifically selected to be the most beneficial in helping promote normalcy, reduce stress and inspire play during what can be a difficult time for children. This year’s toy deliveries, which continue a nearly 15-year tradition for Disney, will include new products from Toy Story 4 (set to open in theaters on June 21).
“The Toy Story films celebrate the importance of toys in a child’s life—they are a source of comfort, joy and consistent companionship,” said Elissa Margolis, senior vice president, Enterprise Social Responsibility for The Walt Disney Company. “By delivering toys to children’s hospitals across the country we hope to raise the spirits of children facing serious illness and make their hospital stay a bit more comfortable.”
More than $3 million in Disney products will be delivered to 450 children’s hospitals in the U.S. and Canada this year as part of the Disney Toy Delivery program, with the help of the Association of Child Life Professionals and Starlight Children’s Foundation.
The toy deliveries and the special visit to AdventHealth for Children by cast and characters from Toy Story 4 are all part of Disney Team of Heroes, the Company’s philanthropic initiative focused on reimagining the patient and family experience in children’s hospitals across the globe. The initiative launched in March 2018 with Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger’s announcement of a five-year, $100 million commitment to support children’s hospitals around the world. In April of this year at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, Texas, Disney launched a pilot of new experiences—each of which has been designed to provide comfort and inspiration for patients and their families. Plans are underway to roll out the innovative program to hospitals in the U.S. and internationally.