Disneyland Resort Empowers the Future Workforce with $1 Million in Grants to Local Nonprofits

It’s time to celebrate! As Disneyland Resort heads into the eighth year of its community workforce development initiative, we are excited to announce over $1 million in grants going to local nonprofits and school districts.

Designed to develop and prepare the workforce in Anaheim and beyond, the community workforce development initiative empowers jobseekers and students through programming with school districts and nonprofits. In addition to financial support, Disney VoluntEARS develop meaningful relationships with the organizations, lending their time and talents toward mentorship, training workshops, skills development and more.

Since 2017, the Disneyland Resort community workforce development initiative has impacted more than 10,000 lives and provided more than $7.5 million in support for organizations to grow their workforce programming and develop new programs.

With programs like Anaheim’s Innovating Mentoring Experience (AIME) providing one-on-one mentoring for high school students to career skills development workshops with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County and the Inland Empire and more, each of these organizations provides valuable resources for jobseekers and serves a diverse set of community needs.

We’re excited to give you a sneak peek at two of the new organizations making a difference in the Anaheim community that are joining the workforce development program at Disneyland Resort:

Founded on a mission to provide warm meals, affordable housing assistance and job training to homeless and low-income families, Caterina’s Club has been an impactful force in Southern California for nearly 20 years. As the organization looks to expand workforce programming through its Hospitality Program, this support will give Anaheim high school students more opportunities to explore future careers in the hospitality and service industries.

This isn’t the first time Disneyland Resort and Caterina’s Club have teamed up: earlier this year, the resort named Caterina’s Club the celebrated charity of the 2024 Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend.

Launched in 2016 with a heartfelt mission of “spreading goodness and demonstrating kindness,” Love Anaheim provides a valuable resource connecting service project opportunities with available volunteers to further important causes in the City of Anaheim. With this funding, the organization will bolster its Better Way Anaheim program, which provides skills training and services to community members experiencing homelessness, with the end goal of securing employment.  

In celebration of the 40^th anniversary of Disney VoluntEARS, Disneyland Resort collaborated with Love Anaheim to pack care kits for the Anaheim Inclement Weather Shelter Network and on a series of park beautification projects in Anaheim.

“Following the approval of DisneylandForward, our expanding investment in the Anaheim community and dedication to workforce development remains a top priority for us. That’s why we are so proud to continue supporting schools and nonprofits that are empowering the next generation of leaders,” said Ken Potrock, president of Disneyland Resort. “The incredible work these organizations are doing to make a positive impact in our community is truly inspiring, and we are honored to support their efforts.” 

Interested in discovering more about how Disneyland Resort is making a difference in the local community? Visit Disney Connect to learn more and stay tuned for more stories on the Disney Parks Blog.