Members of the Disney Cruise Line team – both at sea and on land – have been spreading holiday cheer this season by volunteering their time in our port communities. From coast to coast and around the world, our cast and crew members dedicate their time to giving back in meaningful ways, no matter the time of year. Here are a few of our favorite moments of giving back this holiday season!
1. The Bahamas
With so many of our cruises visiting The Bahamas, we consider it home! Disney Cruise Line worked closely with our community partners to understand their needs and ways we could support local schools and students.
- In Nassau, DCL cast and crew members spent the day at the Ranfurly Homes for Children, a local non-profit foster care organization. The volunteers sprinkled some Disney magic around the children’s learning lab at the foster home, setting up new laptops and equipment, as well as decorating the space with Disney-themed decals and inspiring quotes for the kids to see each day, such as “Smile,” “Be Positive,” and a reminder from Walt Disney that, “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.”
- In Eleuthera, the team visited local schools to deliver academic workbooks and reading books for students to use at home and in school year-round.
- And, in Abaco, crew members who work on Castaway Cay spent their time off volunteering in the community. The team donated academic workbooks, reading books and computers, as well as other necessities, like sporting equipment, safety resources and kitchen appliances to a local school for the students to enjoy.
2. Florida
While the Disney Wish was in port at Port Canaveral, Florida, cast and crew members came together to help provide food for students who rely on school meals each day. The team visited The Children’s Hunger Project in Brevard County and packaged 900 meals which were delivered to schools this month for students to eat during the holiday break.
Heading south to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, earlier this year, Disney Cruise Line celebrated the opening of our new dedicated cruise terminal at Port Everglades and announced new community investments. As part of our first holiday season in our new port community, Disney Cruise Line sponsored the Boys & Girls Club’s Youth of the Year Holiday Program, which focuses on fostering a new generation of leaders, teaching important skills such as communication, goal setting and teamwork, to prepare students for their future careers.
3. California & Texas
While the Disney Magic sailed out of San Diego, California, a group of crew members visited a local food pantry, Kitchens for Good, to help stock shelves with nutritious food and distribute meal packages to local families. And, this week, when the Disney Magic is in Galveston, Texas, crew members will sort and stock food items at the Galveston County Food Bank and assemble meal packages for local families.
4. Papenburg, Germany
If you’ve been following along with us as our newest ship, the Disney Treasure, takes shape, you may know that the ship is being built in Papenburg, Germany. Our Walt Disney Imagineering team spent this past weekend volunteering at the community’s Christmas Market. The team helped sell holiday cookies at the event with all proceeds benefitting a local charitable organization that supports children who are ill and their families. The team also read Disney stories to the children and taught them how to draw their favorite Disney characters.
Disney Cruise Line has long been committed to creating lasting, positive impact in the port communities we call home year-round. Some of our most recent efforts include:
- New community investments in South Florida.
- Crew members delivering hundreds of meals and packages of school supplies to port communities.
- DCL sponsoring a variety of the LJM Maritime Academy programs in The Bahamas.
- Cast and crew members supporting the Eleuthera Junior Junkanoo competition.
- Team of VoluntEARS participating in beach clean-ups in Brevard County and in The Bahamas.
To read about other ways our cast and crew members are making an impact in our port communities, visit the Disney Parks Blog.