LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., Aug. 12, 2005 – Make-A-Wish® Foundation of Central and Northern Florida will be able to make wishes come true for approximately 50 children with life-threatening medical conditions as the result of a $250,000 donation from Disney.  Make-A-Wish Foundation and Disney celebrated the contribution today at Disney’s Animal Kingdom by blowing out candles on …

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.,  Nov. 18, 2005 – A sell-out crowd of more than 5,000 Central Floridians is expected to raise at least $160,000 – a record – for Children’s Miracle Network at tonight’s Disney Helping Kids Shine Ride-A-Thon. The proceeds of the annual event – held at the Magic Kingdom – will go directly …

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., May 4, 2006 – Thirty-four students from Joseph Williams Elementary School in Gainesville were guests of honor today at Disney’s Animal Kingdom as winners of Jiminy Cricket’s Environmentality Challenge; a statewide environmental education program that encourages students to think and act environmentally at home, at school and in the community.               …

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., Oct. 15, 2006 - Florida’s 35 million hotel guests can now opt to take a break at a Florida Certified Green Lodge – a State designation that recognizes hotels and motels as being environmentally-friendly. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today honored Disney’s Port Orleans Resort, Disney’s Pop Century Resort and …

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., Nov. 6, 2006 – Veterinarians and animal welfare experts from Disney’s Animal Kingdom returned today after successfully transferring two endangered white rhinos from Animal Kingdom to a wildlife preserve in Africa Africa. This was the first ever reintroduction of white rhinos from the United States to Africa. The two white rhinos, both …

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., Oct. 5, 2006 - Veterinarians from Disney’s Animal Programs led a coalition of experts in an effort to investigate a new method of controlling the growing elephant population in areas of Southern Africa. Their work has resulted in the creation of a new surgical procedure and device that effectively sterilizes male elephants …

  LAKE BUENA VISTA, September 28, 2006 – Governor Jeb Bush today joined nearly 300,000 middle school students statewide in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record™ for the “Most People Reading Aloud Simultaneously in Multiple Locations.” The event, Breaking a World Record: Reading Aloud!, overseen by the Just Read, Florida! office, aimed to …

  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., March 28, 2006 -  Four non-profit organizations that serve Osceola County are planning to spread some magic and make dreams come true with the help of Disney’s Helping Kids Shine Grants. The recipients of the 2006 grants were announced today in front of Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom.   In …

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., May 9, 2006 – Shining a spotlight on students that demonstrate outstanding character and achievement, Walt Disney World Resort today honored three Central Florida students as recipients of the DisneyHand Shining Star Award during a ceremony at Epcot.    The three winners – one each at the elementary, middle and high school …

CENTRAL FLORIDA,  June 28, 2004 — The American Red Cross of Central Florida is proud to announce that The Walt Disney Company is donating 720 Mickey Mouse plush toys to support the local chapter’s disaster relief efforts. The generous gesture is part of a nationwide donation to the American Red Cross of 150,000 Mickey Mouse …