For individuals and families impacted by the LA fires, the difficulty of being displaced has not stopped just because the vast majority of the burning has. For many, entire homes and belongings have been wiped out do to the consuming flames, and rebuilding their lives means more than just rebuilding the walls of a house.
For the Walt Disney Company, taking care of the community that it has been a part of for almost a century doesn’t stop, either. In addition to the fifteen million pledged by the Walt Disney Company to contribute to rebuilding efforts, and the volunteers ensuring displaced families could come and find clothes straight out of the Disney Television wardrobe warehouse, donation drives have also been going on throughout the company.
Donation drives at the Walt Disney Studio Lot in Burbank packaged over 127,000 essential items to be distributed to those affected by the LA fires, with nearly a thousand cast members and employees from across Southern California pitching in to help collect, count, organize, and distribute items such as hygiene essentials, baby supplies, games, and toys.
Teams at the satellite offices of Disney’s subsidiaries, including 20th Century Fox, Hulu, and ABC also collected items to contribute to the larger drive happening at the Burbank location.
“Disney’s magic is in our people, and seeing the Disney VoluntEARS in action pulls at my heartstrings. I love that we’re providing a little bit of comfort and happiness to families who have been impacted by the fires,” said Kym Belzer, senior manager, Corporate Social Responsibility, The Walt Disney Company. “Events like this give an outlet for employees to be a part of something, especially rebuilding the lives of the families who have been impacted by the fires.”
In addition to the drive at the Burbank Lot, Jimmy Kimmel Live also hosted their own drive; the Jimmey Kimmel Live Donation Center was opened on its Hollywood Backlot to collect even more essential items and resources to be distributed out to families in need, and collected nearly 70,000 additional items during the week-long drive, ensuring that countless more families were met with the essentials they desperately needed after the devastating fires.
“[The wildfires have] been a sickening, shocking, awful experience. But it has also been, in a lot of ways, a beautiful experience. Because once again, we see our fellow men and women coming together to support each other,” Jimmy Kimmel said, in his appearance addressing the current state of emergency in California.
Despite doing his best to inject levity into a terrible time for many Californians, Jimmy Kimmel’s fifteen minute segment was an emotional tribute to the good that can be found in humanity despite dark times and troubling situations, and the full clip can be watched below. Especially right now, it’s important to remember that our neighbors are our allies, and our love for one another our biggest strength.
Jimmy Kimmel’s donation drive ended up bringing the donations they received to a pop-up distribution center for those with immediate needs in Altadena. At the end of the week, two five-ton trucks were delivered to a sound stage at Disney’s Burbank lot, where even more of the Disney VoluntEARS sorted the Jimmy Kimmel Live Donation Center items, including Disneyland Resort Ambassador Raul Aquino Rojas.
“I’m so proud to see our Disneyland Resort cast members come together to provide relief for the communities affected by the fires,” Rojas said. “Every contribution, no matter how small, helps rebuild lives — reminding us all that together, we can overcome anything.”
