Sometimes I wonder if I need to study other companies to the extent that I have Walt Disney Corp. I keep reading stories about it that make it seem like such a unique company for its levels of involvement in its community, but maybe many conglomerates are like that and I just don’t know about it. It wouldn’t surprise me if Disney was special, however, given its high consumer trust rating.
Today I’m detailing another one of Disney’s philanthropic ventures, the Disney Dreamers Academy. The Disney Dreamers Academy, or for brevity’s sake the DDA, is a collaboration between Walt Disney World, media personality Steve Harvey, Essence Magazine, and this year, the Coca-Cola Company. It’s meant to, according to the official Disney Parks blog, “motivate, inspire, and empower young adults.”
Strangely, for how good that sounds (and such excellent PR for Disney), I had a hard time finding out what, exactly, the DDA does. Even its official website didn’t give away many details, and I had to resort to Google for the scoop.
I found several sites quoting Harvey as stating that the mission of the DDA “is about inspiring our young people who oftentimes don’t have the chance to be exposed to a variety of job skills and job opportunities and meet with people in the fields they’re interested in. We want to give our young achievers the tools to become overachievers — to make their dreams a reality.” Further researching finally revealed the specifics of the DDA.
Teenagers accepted into the program travel to Disney World to enroll in vocational workshops. These sessions mostly revolve around Disney-related fields like Imagineering, entertainment, and business, but this year with Coca-Cola’s involvement there will also be a class on culinary business. Director of Media Relations for the Disney Parks Carole Munroe and Marketing Manager for the Coca-Cola Company Stella Ringer will be among the lecturers for the sessions.
Each year the DDA class includes 100 students in grades 9 through 12. Eligible students must be nominated by their parents, school administrators/teachers, other group leaders, or even sometimes by themselves. Applications are reviewed by a panel including Harvey and members of the Disney World cast, along with other leaders in the entertainment, communications, and industry divisions.
The 2011 DDA winners have already been announced; however, before too long the DDA will begin accepting applications for their 2012 class. Those interested in being nominated or in nominating should head to the official DDA website for more details on the application. It will prompt you to sign up via email to receive updates as they are available.
The DDA reminds me a lot of the Disney Internship Program. I’m both surprised and impressed that Disney runs multiple such career workshops for students. The only downside to all of this is that I didn’t learn about it when I was still eligible to attend.
Related Articles:
Pleasure Island Converting to Hyperion Wharf
Disney World to Pay Backed Wages