Surviving “Disney Give a Day Get a Day”
Two months ago, if you had asked me what my feelings were on the Disney Give a Day get a Day promotion, I would have been less than enthusiastic. I had the whole thing sprung on me the day after I returned from my holiday vacation, and from what I could tell at the time, the hundreds of emails that I received were from self-interested people that cared about Disney first, and the kids second. People would be so blunt as to tell me, “I want to get this reading thing done by [a specific date] because I’m going to Disney in March,” or, “can I read twice? I want two tickets.”
Our program requires a six month commitment and encourages volunteers to develop strong and lasting relationships with the kids they serve. There was no way I was going to go through an hour of paperwork just so that John Doe could use the kids in our program for a day and get into Disneyland for free.
My feelings on the whole Disney program have softened though ever since I’ve had the chance to watch some of the truly caring volunteers that Disney was able to send our way. These were the people that got so excited when they saw our program description they forgot to even register for the Disney Ticket. I’m not holding the ticket against people (I know how expensive they are), I’ve just really come to respect the value of a truly dedicated volunteer that’s in it for the kids and truly enjoys what they’re doing.
So I have to admit that Disney did do me a service in getting the word about our program out to people that might not otherwise have heard about it. February was our biggest month and I probably have the Give a Day Get a Day program to thank for that. Kids are now being read to all throughout King County, and I don’t know if my powers of recruitment would ever have reached that far.
What do you guys think? Do programs like this cheapen the volunteer experience, or help make it more accessible?
I shared your response to this promotion. Now I have to confess there is nothing I would like to do less with my time off than spend a day at Disneyland. I don’t know that you could even pay me to go. So, I am starting from a negative bias to begin with. But yes I do think programs like this “cheapen the volunteer experience.” My main concern would be the same on you share that we want our volunteers to be motivated and drawn by the cause itself and to be willing to make a long term commitment. If you are finding that it has helped your volunteer efforts and they are returning volunteers than I would be compelled to change my position. I do think people who volunteer have all kinds of motivation that are a combination of ‘self’ and ‘other’ focused and that we need to have room for all kinds of motivations. So perhaps next time this promotion comes around I will see how we can leverage it in my workplace to recruit more volunteers!
Hi,
My experience was completely different and maybe that is because we recruit heavily for episodic events. The DISNEY program allowed my organization to finish a tree pit survey, connect the community and accomplish things we wouldn’t be able to with out it. While I had quite a few volunteers who were interested in the tickets, I also had many who sincerely were there to volunteer. We had several volunteers who had worked with our organization come back and serve again. We were happy to reconnect with them and they with us. And we have had repeat volunteers.
Jenny
Thanks for your comments! It’s great to hear a different perspective on this Disney program
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United Way of King County mobilizes our community in ways that no single agency, individual, or government can to enhance the ability of people to care for one another.
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