Give A Day.  Get A Disney Day.
For 2010 Disney launched a promotion that encourages Volunteering.  With the "Give A Day. Get A Disney Day." promotion people are asked to volunteer for a day in order to earn a free one day Disney Park ticket that is good at either Disney World in Orlando, FL or Disneyland in Anaheim, CA.  Not even Disney probably imagined the far reaching ramifications of launching this promotion.

Case In Point: Salem, Ohio
Salem, Ohio is located 1,032 miles from the closest Disney Parks at Disney World.  It has a population of 11,781 (2008), and would seem to be an unlikely beneficiary of a promotion held by Disney, but it is, and so are many other towns large and small clear across America.

The article discusses the opportunities for local residents to sign up for the Disney program and volunteer at the local Habitat for Humanity to earn a free Disney Park ticket.

The impressive part is that this is not a story from a major metropolitan area, but rather a small town in Ohio that is receiving help getting volunteers for worthy programs due to the Disney promotion.  Disney's decision to partner with the HandsOn Network has enabled them to provide all of these volunteering opportunities.

Why Mention Salem, Ohio?
Salem, Ohio is the town that I grew up in and where my Mom has been a resident for over 40 years. When I heard about the Disney promotion, I suggested that she check it out, figuring that she would have to go to the nearest “big” city to find a volunteering opportunity.

Sure enough she was able to find the opportunity at the Salem Habitat for Humanity and actually completed her volunteer service there prior to the newspaper article coming out.

She has now earned her Disney Park Ticket Voucher that can be redeemed for a day at one of the Disney Parks.


Creating Repeat Volunteers

The real power behind Disney’s promotion is not just the initial waves of volunteers it creates, but the number of people that will discover the joy of volunteering and that continue to come back again and again. They won’t get additional tickets from Disney, but the satisfaction of helping others will be their reward.

In this time of financial crisis, people will discover that charities and other organizations can use more than just their financial donations. They can use their talents and abilities to volunteer. People will discover that this is much more rewarding than just writing a check, and hopefully will continue to help where they can.

More Than Just A Promotion
Disney will discover that “Give A Day. Get A Disney Day.” is much more than a promotion to give away free park tickets. It is a way to enable people to get in touch with their communities big and small, and give a little of their time now and hopefully even more later.

If you would like to sign up to Volunteer, visit: Disney Parks – Give A Day. Get A Disney Day.