Charity begins at "HOME"?

[itcjr]

I have been a DVC member for a few years and a larker of this site just as long. I am always staying close to MY HOME by checking in at this site. I am reaching out to you to see if my idea can become a reality for many ill children...I appreciate and thank anyone for taking the time to read this long email - I am not sure if this has been attempted nor how it would work but I have to give it a shot...

Please forgive me if I am out of line - but I have to ask - As my dad always said - The worst they can say is no...

My name is Renee - I am a technical computer person. In my heart I have always wanted to be a Social worker to help others in need (mentally and physically) BUT along the way I became a computer person instead. I have sort of gone full circle and I have pretty much worked for non profit agencies as a MIS director and now work for a computer company that services many Non Profits on Long Island and NYC.

Why do I write - I have a desire and a goal that I wonder if anyone would join me in since I can not do it alone... I am not sure if it can work but I have to try.

DVC members seem like the most fun, loving, caring people - I don't know it seems that it takes a special person to be a DVC member and boy are we dedicated...

One of the clients we have is Make A Wish - for those who are not familiar the bottom line is that they grant wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy. I am sure you can imagine that many children's only and last wish is to visit Disney... We are all so lucky to afford and enjoy this opportunity year after year.

Disney it self does not really offer any discounts to MAKE A WISH - It is MAKE A Wish's job to raise money and do what they can to grant these wishes at any cost. They do work closely with a non profit in Florida which allows children and familles to stay off grounds and visit Disney (I am told it is a very nice place they get to stay in BUT we all know the magic of staying on Disney's grounds - isnt this why most of us belong to DVC. I am also told DISNEY CRUISE is becoming a popular WISH

...My desire is to work with DVC itself somehow to setup an account that members can donate 1 point too - (or as many as you wish) recently I read how many members we really are and if everyone donated just 1 point it would make a difference. I would think it could be an annual thing - JUST 1 POINT - somehow managed by DVC and Make A Wish would have access to be able to give children the wish of a lifetime. This could grant many wishes per year I am sure - To me 1 point a year does not seem like much at all to help a child who may not have the rest of there life to enjoy such a thing and for parents who financially cannot give this wish on their own...

SO what do you think - Could something like this be possible? If I can somehow persuade DVC to work with me on this and open an account we could donate points to would anyone be open to it?
If anyone would like to email me personally please do - ITCJR@aol.com

Thanks for reading

Renee

HOME - Vero Beach '01
Vero Beach, Board Walk '01
Grove Park Inn - Ashville NC (HIGHLY RECOMMEND) '01
Vero Beach, OKW, Beach Club '02
Hilton Head '02
Board Walk Nov '03
Counting and WAITING - Vero Beach & Beach Club - 2/04

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

"Welcome to the DIS" Renee.

I think your idea is an excellent idea. The only problem I see is if a DVC member makes a transfer of "1" pt to this cause, they are ONLY allowed to transfer "out" for the rest of that year. And they may need to have a transfer into their account in case they are a few pts short.

Maybe if you can get DVC to have an "exemption" for this donation, where it doesn't count as a transfer it may be feasible.

P.S. With 70,000 DVC members.........that would be a nice total of points for kids that would never get the oppurtunity to go to WDW.

 

[InstImpres]

This has come up before...check out this link

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=447714&highlight=donate


Good luck but I am not optimstic about you getting DVC or Disney to work with you. You would proably have to do all the transfers to you and be the sole organizer. Sorry to be the pesimist, but I got a real round around trying to have DVCers leave extra opened food for pickup by 2nd Harvest(at least twice a week)

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you,
Sandy

 

[Werner Weiss]

The thought behind itcjr's proposal is wonderful — but my first thought is that there might be a better way for DVCers to help seriously ill children and their families.

Many of us on this board consider a point to be worth somewhere around $8-10. But the administrative cost of point transfers is likely to exceed $10. On top of that, the rooms at the DVC resorts are not set up to meet the special needs of many of the children.

Please allow me to mention a link to one alternative — Give Kids the World, at http://www.gktw.org/

This fine organization has built a village that's designed to meet the chidren's special needs. Please take a look at the site to see what GKTW does for these children and their families, and what they've built to address their special needs. On the website, look for the tour of the GKTW Village.

I've been supporting Give Kids the World for years. It's easy to donate online through their website.

I hesitated posting this reply because I don't want to discourage itcjr or anyone else from pursuing any avenue to help seriously ill children — including creative new approaches, as well as established charities such as Make-a-Wish, St. Jude Children's Hospital, or GKTW (each of which serves a different purpose).

So, itcjr, I applaud you for proposing the "Give One Point" idea. And perhaps there is, in fact, an efficient way to make it work.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

There are some great ideas in this thread. You can certainly count on my wife and me, if as Werner says, there is "an efficient way to make it work".

MG

 

[JimC]

Great idea! I believe another DIS DVCer is working on the same thing and has been in contact with Disney about it. This is certainly worthwhile to pursue.

 

[jimmytammy]

I agree with Werner Weiss. The transfer process is wherein the problem lies. As another poster said, the cash donation would be the way to go. Through the yrs, DVCers have been generous to give their pts by pulling enough together to give to a cause. I think you have come to the right place to find generosity. It might be in your best interest to contact the fine folks who set up and moderate this entire web site through PMs. My feeling is to expand beyond to reach even more folks. Keep us informed. We will be glad to give. Hope this helps.

Jimmy

 

[dianeschlicht]

As Jimmytammy remembers, we did something similar awhile back when several of us donated points to "Stephanie" who wanted to see WDW with her young children before she succombed to cancer. I believe that time we accomplished it by transfering the donated points into one account and making the reservation that way. I do know that the new transfer policy would be a bit daunting for folks who would be donating. I think it would be great to have a "slush fund" so to speak, for those pesky couple of points that some folks have when their banking and borrowing schedules don't allow for ALL the points to be used. It is pretty tough to rent out 1-10 points, and this would be a great place for them!

 

[itcjr]

Thank you all for the replies - I am listening to peoples ideas as well as going to contact DVC - Will keep you all posted.
Renee

 

[d-r]

Even better than one point....if you find yourself with an odd number of points left over at the end of the year that can't be banked, etc., this would be a good use, I think. It doesn't seem like the "administrative" costs could be that much - set up an account, and that's about it. When members call to bank the points, it would be the same amount of work to send it to that account as it would to bank it. I can't see how that wouldn't be a wash. BUt I really don't know how the system works, I'm just thinking.