Sept. 24, 2019

Disney Days 2019 Recap

Disney Days 2019

Disney Days 2019 has come to an end. It was our largest sibling reunion to date! Even with the new Star Wars land and fall decorations, the entire weekend felt effortless. We can all tip our hats to the TWR team for over planning and helping everything appear seamless.

Here is a numerical look into the magical weekend.

Logistics

One of the least thought of components to Disney Days 2019 are the logistics. How do Disney Days happen? What does it take to get all those siblings together?

 

17

Foster Love - Together We Rise partners with over 1,500 foster care agencies nationwide. Because we are a provider of indirect services 17 local partners (selected via lottery) got to invite children they help.

10

To help ensure the success of Disney Days 2019, staff and key volunteers experienced hands-on training. 10 different types of training sessions in total!

6

A total of 6 charter buses helped transport kids in foster care from designated areas.

3

A total of 3 dollies were used to transport items to and from the TWR transits vans to the park.

382

This year we reunited 382 siblings separated by their foster placement at Disneyland.

Nutrients

Lots of food is consumed over the course of the Disney Days 2019 weekend. We are thankful to have had Subway and Chick-Fil-A, Brea as our dining partners for the weekend.

640

Subway kindly provided 640 lunches for all the kids and volunteers for both Saturday and Sunday.

370

Chick-Fil-A, Brea donated 370 meals for dinner on Saturday night. This included sandwiches, salads, veggie wraps, chips, cookies.

608

For Sunday dinner we all cheered for pizza! In total 608 slices of pizza were enjoyed.

50

To help keep everyone hydrated we went through 50 cases of water.

Treats

700

For a light breakfast snack, 700 KIND bars were distributed to kids and volunteers.

650

To help indulge in everyone’s sweet tooth Hostess donated 650 packaged pastries.

100 x 2

Cinnamon churros are one of our favorite treats. Each group had their own spending money for treats but our Surprise Team sponsored by the Stephen Haag & Quincy Marchelya fund helped pass out extra treats. This team treated 100 kids to extra churros and 100 to ice cream.

Fun Surprises!

One way we keep the magic going is by using our Surprise Team to hand out extra surprises throughout the weekend. The team comprised of our donor relations peeps and our favorite East Coast volunteer Quincy went wild with the gifts.

60

The Surprise team handed out 60 Mickey Mouse ears donated by ToNeverNeverland.

200

For some extra sweetness, the kids split 200 lollipops.

23

Midday energy buster came from 23 salted Mickey Mouse shaped pretzels.

50

We received an in-kind donation of 50 autograph books that the Surprise Team gave out.

350

On the second day of Disney Days, a gift of 350 collectible pins made it to the Surprise Team.

The People Who Make Disney Days Possible

Disney Days 2019 is more than just treats and food. It is about people coming together to help siblings in foster care enjoy being children together. Without these people, Disney Days could not be possible.

112

Over the course of two in-house events, 112 volunteers came together to help with Disney Day prep.

45

Each partner agency sent Certified Social Workers to help supervise the kids. 45 amazing Social Workers came out to help support the children they care for every day.

38

To help these siblings remember their magical day together 38 professional photographers volunteered their talent. Over the next few weeks, we will be compiling those photos to give each child who attended their own memory book of the day.

209

Safety is the primary focus of all our events and thanks to 209 volunteer chaperones, every child at Disney Days 2019 felt safe and appreciated. We cannot thank our volunteers enough.

29

Shout out to all of the Foster Love - Together We Rise team. It is amazing how much 29 people can get done.

9

Our partners make it possible for us to reunite more siblings each year. Thank you to our 9 largest donors: Stephen Haag & Quincy Marchelya Fund, All the Feels, Cooley, Channel Bakers, Perkinscoie, UPS, Appfolio, Subway, Chick-Fil-A, Brea, Foster Care Counts, and the King Family.

143

To help raise awareness for Disney 143 limited Edition Disney Days bundles were sponsored and sent out.

485

Our community stepped in to help us raise funds for Disney Days. Those 485 individuals, groups, and organizations may not have all attended but their spirit of giving and kindness embodied the day. We are continually humbled by those who join us on our mission to improve the lives of children in foster care.

Thank You

Thank you to everyone for helping make Disney Days a success.

If you are interested in Disney Days, learn more here.

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