The Walt Disney Company - 2008 Corporate Responsibility Report - Community - Charitable Giving

2008 Corporate Highlights

Disney provides cash, product donations and in-kind support to community organizations around the world every year. Here are a few examples of our charitable giving efforts in 2008.

Children and Families

Disney has supported special wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions for more than 28 years. In 2008, we contributed more than $11 million in cash and in-kind donations, making Disney the largest donor to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. During the same year, we granted more than 7,000 wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions to visit Disney parks and resorts, meet our characters and celebrities, and have other unique experiences involving ABC and ESPN.

Disney provides significant support to children's hospitals. In June 2008, for example, Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) celebrated the opening of the new Disneyland Resort Ambulatory Care Center in recognition of a $1 million gift from Disney. In Orlando, a wing of the Children's Hospital operated by Florida Hospital will be named for Walt Disney to recognize the substantial support received from the company. The facility will feature a three-story interactive lobby for children, designed by Disney Imagineers. Disney also committed to help raise �10 million to support a new children's medical center at Great Ormond Street Hospital in Great Britain, kicking off the campaign with a �1 million donation.
In addition to financial support, Disney donates entertainment to children�s hospitals around the world. The Disney Hospital Care Package program sends an annual delivery of Disney-branded toys, games, DVDs, blankets and costumes to children's hospitals. In 2008, in collaboration with the Child Life Council, we distributed more than 500 Disney care packages in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., valued at more than $2 million. The Disney FunFlix program shared Disney movies with children in 53 hospitals in 2008 by screening first-run animated and live-action films like Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert and Wall-E." Disney also serves as the presenting sponsor of the Starlight Children's Foundation's "PC Pal" program, with a donation of $2.5 million over three years. Disney provides content and software to this effort, which brings laptops to children in hospitals and helps kids play games, make friends and support one another online.
Hong Kong Disneyland has created a HK $1 million Disney Children's Fund as a pilot program to address the well-being of children in their local community. In 2008, the first set of recipients received grants to implement the proposals, including customized social work service for underprivileged children and social integration for children with disabilities. The activities are expected to touch the lives of close to 3,000 children and families.

Thousands of Walt Disney World Cast Members collected new toys for the U.S. Marine Corps� Toys for Tots campaign.

Immediately following the devastating China earthquake in 2008, Disney contributed $1 million in humanitarian aid to the China Youth Development Foundation for immediate relief of displaced and distressed children and to assist with long-term redevelopment of damaged schools in Sichuan.
Disney continues its long relationship with Boys & Girls Club of America (BGCA). In 2008, we completed our three-year, $2 million sponsorship of the Join the Club Campaign, which helps BGCA Clubs around the country reach out to and serve more youth in their communities. Many Disney sites have active relationships with Clubs in their local communities and participate in and sponsor activities throughout the year.
Disney is a founding team sponsor of City Year Los Angeles, an organization that unites young people of all backgrounds for a year of community service. The Disney City Year Corps members provide tutoring, mentoring, after-school programs and service projects at two inner-city Los Angeles schools.
Since its inception, Disney has contributed millions of dollars to the Elizabeth Glazer Pediatric AIDS Foundation, which works to combat pediatric AIDS around the world. Through support in excess of $500,000 in 2008 alone, Disney continued to help increase the awareness and impact of this vital work.

Arts and Creativity

As part of the debut of the South African production of The Lion King, Disney collaborated with local organizations to extend arts opportunities to children.

Disney is a leading sponsor of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, our New York City neighbor and leader in the arts. In 2008, Disney made a multi-year $3 million pledge to the Bravo Lincoln Center campaign to support the renovation of this New York City landmark and venerable arts institution.
Disney worked with local foundations and leaders in South Africa to encourage arts opportunities in coordination with the Johannesburg production of The Lion King. Thousands of children enjoyed a complimentary theater experience, and Cast Members and staff of the production visited classrooms.
Our parks and resorts around the world bring the arts and music to young people in their communities. During 2008, Disneyland Resort introduced more than 40,000 second-grade students to music fundamentals and the history of the American band through its annual band concert series. The resort also donated more than $70,000 in grants to local teachers to fund arts education programs in the school districts surrounding the resort. At Walt Disney World Resort, nearly 300 Cast Members performed with the Encore! Cast and Orchestra to raise $25,940 for United Arts of Central Florida. The Disney Scholarships at Hong Kong Disneyland award talented students from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Schools of Dance, Drama, Music and Theatre & Entertainment Arts with resources to continue their education. Since its inception in 2007, the program has awarded 12 scholarships to students with outstanding academic achievements.
Disney collaborates with the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and the Mayor�s Office as the title sponsor of the city�s Heritage Month Celebrations. Each celebration - including Latino, Native American Indian, African American and Asian Pacific Islander American - features a variety of arts and educational events for youth throughout the city. Disney provided financial support for these culturally diverse activities throughout Los Angeles during 2008.

Community Service

ABC-owned Station WPVI-Philadelphia participates in the local Variety Autism Walk, with anchor Erin O�Hearn as host.

ABC-owned local television stations are community leaders in public service.
WTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham's annual food drive collected a record-breaking 1.5 million pounds of food in 2008 for needy individuals in the community. The annual AIDS Walk San Francisco, sponsored by KGO-TV, most recently raised a near-record $4.5 million for 43 Bay Area organizations. Fundraising by KFSN-TV in Fresno has brought Children's Hospital Central California $3.3 million over the years. During the massive firestorms that ravaged Southern California in October 2007, KABC-TV in Los Angeles initiated an emergency-relief drive that raised $4 million. For more discussion about our ABC-owned stations' commitment to community service, please see the Content and Products section.
Disney Minnie Grants help to support youth-led projects around the world in conjunction with Youth Service America. In 2008, 68 grants of $500 each were distributed in 22 countries to engage children in meaningful volunteerism. This year's projects included helping disabled children in Ghana, conducting HIV-prevention training in Georgia, protecting water sources in Azerbaijan and training youth mentors in the United States. Started in 2005, the Disney Minnie Grant program empowers children around the world to make a difference in their communities, while helping cultivate the next generation of caring, service-oriented community leaders.
ESPN has a long history of involvement with the Special Olympics. In 2008, this relationship expanded when ESPN provided daily coverage of the events on ESPN.com and ESPN360.com. ESPN has a commitment to supporting diversity in athletic efforts both in the community and through its journalistic coverage.

ESPN has raised more than $80 million to fund cancer research through the V Foundation, named in honor of commentator and coach James Valvano.

Disney supports the USO by annually sending Operation Disney Care Packages to USO centers around the world. In 2008, 135 care packages filled with toys, DVDs and magazine subscriptions, valued at a total of $3.1 million, helped to entertain service men and women and their families. During Military Appreciation Month each May, Disney Minnie Grants are awarded to select USO centers to support family events.
Through ESPN, the V Foundation for Cancer Research, a charitable organization created in 1993 in honor of college basketball coach and ESPN commentator James Valvano, has raised more than $80 million to fund cancer research grants nationwide. Team ESPN stages special events and multimedia fundraising initiatives in support of the V Foundation, such as Jimmy V Week programming on its six domestic television networks, on radio, in magazines and on internet outlets, and the ESPY Don�t Give Up V Foundation Radio Auction. The V Foundation awards 100% of all new direct cash receipts and net proceeds of events directly to cancer research and related programs. In 2008, The V Foundation awarded $11 million in specific research grants to various cancer centers around the country. For more about ESPN�s men�s health campaign, please see the Corporate Giving section.

Environment and Conservation

On Earth Day 2008, a Disney VoluntEAR helps plant a tree with children in Los Angeles.

In 2008, Disney contributed $500,000 to the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund. This Fund supports charitable organizations for the study of wildlife, protection of habitats and land-management plans, as well as community conservation and education.
Disney also announced a grant of $1.5 million to TreePeople, a nonprofit organization, to help reforest fire-ravaged areas in the mountains surrounding greater Los Angeles. Under TreePeople's California Wildfire Restoration Initiative, of which Disney is the largest financial supporter, thousands of volunteers will plant an estimated 60,000 new trees over the next three years. Disney is also a supporter of TreePeople's Million Trees Los Angeles initiative, to help green Los Angeles school campuses, parks and other places where children gather.