It's a new week of #BandofHeroes, where we love to celebrate positive news from our partners in response to the on-going Coronavirus Pandemic. This week’s hero has never failed to make both kids and adults dream big, Disney, From food donations to local communities to selling branded face masks, read on to know more about the series of initiatives that Disney has come up with to help fight COVID-19.

$3 Million in food donations to Help Local Communities 

Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort might have closed their gates to the public but continued to spread the magic with food donations to local communities. Disney has donated over 270 tons of surplus food inventory including fresh salads, greens and more to local food banks from Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort, and other parks and resorts. To date, the company has provided nearly $3 Million in food donations to help local communities across the world. 

“These donations would not be possible without the dedication of cast members behind the scenes who collect, sort and distribute every item to ensure it’s delivered with the highest level of freshness, keeping food safety top of mind,” said Tajiana Ancora-Brown, director, External Affairs at Walt Disney World Resort. “We feel an immense sense of pride and excitement every time we see the Disney Harvest truck making deliveries in the community, and we’re so grateful for the team that makes these donations happen.”

Read more here.

Donating $5 Million in In-Kind donations including personal protective equipment

Disney has committed nearly $5 million in-kind donations benefiting hospitals and communities around the globe. The Walt Disney Company has donated 175,000 rain ponchos to hospitals in need of protective equipment and more than 100,000 N95 masks via humanitarian aid organization MedShare. The idea came from nurses across the country who found that rain ponchos can protect their clothing and prolong the use of personal protective equipment.

 “The COVID-19 pandemic is unlike anything we’ve seen before,” said Charles Redding, CEO of MedShare. “We have to find ways to pool our resources and work together to help the healthcare workers who are doing their very best to treat patients and contain COVID-19. We appreciate Disney partnering with us to support hospitals and healthcare workers on the frontlines.”

Read more here. 

Donating $1 million from face masks proceeds to Medshare 

Have you been looking for fun face masks? Disney is producing and selling reusable cloth face masks from Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars. Designs will feature all of your favorite characters including Anna and Elsa from Frozen, Woody, Mickey Mouse, The Avengers, Baby Yoda and more. To further help communities in need, Disney is donating one million cloth face masks for children and families in underserved and vulnerable communities across the U.S., including California and Florida, that will be distributed by MedShare. Additionally, the company will donate up to $1 million in profits from the face masks proceedings through September 30, 2020. 

“We realize this is a challenging time for families and wearing any type of mask can be daunting,” said Edward Park, senior vice president of Disney store and shopDisney. “Our hope is that Disney’s cloth face masks featuring some of our most beloved characters will provide comfort to the families, fans and communities that are so important to us.”

Read more here.

These are only a few new initiatives that Disney is doing to respond to communities they serve during this time. To date, Disney has also given over $3,000 to local youth sports teams in North America through FlipGive.