Wrote by Tristane on Friday, April 25th 2008 at 3:08 pm

Nearly as old as me! A quarter of a century ago, the Walt Disney Company created VoluntEARS. I have already told you about this sensational and very human programme (my little heart is very sensitive to these things you know!!). Throughout the year, all employees all over the world work to help disadvantaged children, families in difficulty and the environment. And amidst all that there is the “Make-a-wish” operation which is the VoluntEARS’ spearhead: 60 partner associations all over the world have already helped make 7,500 wishes come true for kids already. So - a little respect if you please!!

To celebrate its 25th birthday, the VoluntEARS programme decided to push the boat out. From 25th April to 25th May, every Disney employee, in partnership with the Rêves association and Secours Populaire Français, will help make 25 wishes come true for children.
Here are a few examples: lucky old Clément is off to a very special football match that he will be watching from the Presidential box at Bollaert Stadium in Lens. He will be cheering on his favourite team on 3rd May as they face Monaco, but most importantly, Nadir Bellhadj, Éric Carrière, Loïc Remy and Jean-Pierre Papin will be waiting for him at the end of the match to swap their signed strip with his VoluntEARS one! Amazing!
Twenty-four other dreams will come true thanks to the magic Disney wand! Raphael, 8 years old, will visit behind the scenes of the Natural History Museum in Paris; Tehani will have the chance of meeting the cast of the Lion King backstage and on 18th May, fifteen football fans will have a kick about with Zinedine Zidane himself on the pitch at the Disney Stadium…
I don’t know about you, but this kind of initiative really bowls me over!
So there you have it. I wanted to tell you about this very special birthday because as you know, Disneyland is definitely no ordinary amusement park! There’s nowhere else like it!