At a special performance of Epcot’s Candlelight Processional on Sunday, December 6, Walt Disney World president George Kalogridis announced a $500,000 grant to help homeless families in the area.
Homeless Impact Fund, run by the Central Florida Commission on Homelessness, will be the recipient of the money, which will go to families in Orange and Osceola counties.
The Commission’s CEO, Andrae Bailey, said, “What’s impressive is not just the amount of money, which is one of the largest gifts we’ve seen in a while; it’s who gave it. When somebody like Disney steps in and makes an investment of this size …that sends a message to everybody in the community.”
It has become tradition for Disney to announce a gift of some kind during the holidays, but it has not been in this large of an amount before. Last year, $25,000 was given to the Community Food & Outreach Center in Orlando.
Kalogridis said, “Every child needs a safe and stable environment in which to learn and grow.”
News source: Orlando Sentinel