give a day get a day all over

[dclfun]

Our family has always volunteered. I actually felt badly about signing up to give only one day to an organization that has a greater need for regular volunteers. This is why we are doing one of the sew-at-home projects as I would have felt guilty showing up to volunteer for the sole purpose of getting a ticket. Most of the organizations I would want to volunteer for were not listed under the GAD promo anyway. What about people who volunteer regularly in their children's school, etc.? Don't get me wrong- I think it was a fantastic promo but hopefully the inspiration will last long past the date the free tickets expire.---Kathy

 

[Ellester]

I'm not surprised they ran out way before the end of the year. We went with a Project Linus group, I sent our blankets to Macon (about 90 miles away). That was the closest that would take children under 16. The coordinator there felt that they would not have many vouchers left to give out after February. I don't know if she had any "inside" info or not. It was nice that my three oldest kids (including my 5yo son) could help. My son was too young to qualify officially, but he had fun picking out "boy" patterns and tying the blankets. He wanted to send cash in each blanket too, I had to explain that it didn't quite work that way!

My 11yo daughter and my mom volunteer 4 hours a month at our local no-kill animal shelter, but they were not on the list. We also tried to volunteer for the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" house they built locally a few weeks ago, but again, no kids allowed. I know that around here at least, it's tough for kids to find volunteer opportunities. Our church requires a number of volunteer hours for confirmation in the 7th grade and it can be very tough for kids to find them.

 

[kapeman]

I don't know anything about a 60 day rule.

If you signed up in early February and had a date assigned then for service to be done in the future, you would still be covered in the count for the 1 million tickets.

Sorry, I should have been more specific.

We signed up in Feb. with the charity for an event in May.

At 60 days out we went to register that on the Disney site only to find they were accepting any more registrations.

 

[5forDiz]

Our family has always volunteered. I actually felt badly about signing up to give only one day to an organization that has a greater need for regular volunteers. This is why we are doing one of the sew-at-home projects as I would have felt guilty showing up to volunteer for the sole purpose of getting a ticket. Most of the organizations I would want to volunteer for were not listed under the GAD promo anyway. What about people who volunteer regularly in their children's school, etc.? Don't get me wrong- I think it was a fantastic promo but hopefully the inspiration will last long past the date the free tickets expire.---Kathy

I agree with you, it is a great promo. Sure you could get a free ticket but at least people had to perform volunteer service for the freebie which jmho is better than just giving a ticket for birthday as was case during What Will You Celebrate promo. 1 million in under 3 months is an impressive number.

 

[Inkmahm]

I registered the first week of January. The only opportunity that worked for us takes place May 1st. We could not complete sign up until 60 days out...Disney rules. The event disappeared! We were not able to complete registration until March 8th. We just made it!

Ah, NOW I get it I think. Does that mean that no one who was planning to volunteer more than 60 days out from yesterday could possibly have sign up completed due to the 60 day rule? I was thinking that there were dates listed to choose from that were more than 60 days out when I looked at the voluteer opportunity list. I didn't try to sign up for any of them though so I don't know if I'd have been able to or not.

 

[TLSnell1981]

You couldn't complete sign up unless the event was within the 60 day window.

 

[tassma]

I am surprised that we reached capacity so quickly, but don't think we should assume that Disney made some kind of mistake. The promotion was for 1Million tickets, but never any commitment beyond that - if you notice they are continuing the celebration theme as well. The volunteering promotion sells well and gets us planning for a trip. Plus it gets a lot of great press! At any rate, I am bummed that it is closed, but thankful that Disney had the promotion.

 

[Inkmahm]

You couldn't complete sign up unless the event was within the 60 day window.

Then I feel bad for all the charities that thought they'd be getting volunteers from this program more than two months from now. Only the charities that could use the volunteers in the first 4+ months of the year got the benefit.

 

[Tiger926]

Then I feel bad for all the charities that thought they'd be getting volunteers from this program more than two months from now. Only the charities that could use the volunteers in the first 4+ months of the year got the benefit.

Yup, that was my point as well. What does this mean for those charities? What does it mean for families who were planning on volunteering - without the ticket, will they still do so?

Disney's structure of the program was problematic from the beginning as it was top heavy. Only charities who were able to jump through Disney's hoops the fastest, were able to get volunteers right at the beginning of the program. Those who were not, are out of luck. Sure, the promo clearly states that tickets will be capped at 1 million, but still, I have to imagine that some charities are feeling this in an adverse way now that the program is closed. I'm sure for some charities, this was the only way, or the best way, to get volunteers and they were probably counting on this program to help them in that area. Now what?

Tiger

 

[nunzia]

It is very possible that those that have not volunteered before and signed up just to get the ticket will now continue with the charity they worked with.

Irregardless of whether many did it for the monetary gain of the ticket, it was wonderful advertising for many organizations that do not have that type of captial to spend on PR.

Well said.. I signed up just to be a part..I already have an AP and the voucher is no good monetarily for me unless I jump through many hoops on site and I still don't know what I'll do with it. I crocheted a Project Linus blanket and my DH did a fleece one. I already crochet sweaters for Knit for Kids, but really enjoyed the blanket so will mix it up and do both charities now..also, if I run across a good deal on fleece my DH would be happy to make more blankets..so it worked..I learned about a new charity I can contribute to.

 

[Inkmahm]

Yup, that was my point as well. What does this mean for those charities? What does it mean for families who were planning on volunteering - without the ticket, will they still do so?

Disney's structure of the program was problematic from the beginning as it was top heavy. Only charities who were able to jump through Disney's hoops the fastest, were able to get volunteers right at the beginning of the program. Those who were not, are out of luck. Sure, the promo clearly states that tickets will be capped at 1 million, but still, I have to imagine that some charities are feeling this in an adverse way now that the program is closed. I'm sure for some charities, this was the only way, or the best way, to get volunteers and they were probably counting on this program to help them in that area. Now what?

Tiger

It's such a good program for getting volunteers... I wonder if Disney would keep the website and the links for the charities for the rest of the year but just make it clear that no tickets so along with the volunteer work? I wonder how many people would register and do the work anyway, even with no possibility of a free ticket?

Or maybe they could give out JUST the fast passes and the collector ears (or whatever the gift is) for volunteering for the rest of the year, just not the free tickets. 4 out of 5 of my family is taking the fast passes anyway so it wouldn't have mattered to us that there were no free tickets left when we did the volunteer work. Fastpasses are much more valuable to us!

 

[cpdwiz]

Well said.. I signed up just to be a part..I already have an AP and the voucher is no good monetarily for me unless I jump through many hoops on site and I still don't know what I'll do with it. I crocheted a Project Linus blanket and my DH did a fleece one. I already crochet sweaters for Knit for Kids, but really enjoyed the blanket so will mix it up and do both charities now..also, if I run across a good deal on fleece my DH would be happy to make more blankets..so it worked..I learned about a new charity I can contribute to.

Needs a home, I know a huge pin collector that is really wanting the ears and pins

 

[FOXFIELDZOO]

I just signed up 2 days ago. I am really surprised it ended without any notice. THey messed up my registration and one of the 4 I registered did not get signed up. I am trying to get it fixed.

I Just got an e-mail from our place and went to the site to finish the registration and it is closed ,so even if you signed up on the first post and got the e-mail from disney you can not get the voucher( bummed) but still going to volunteer

 

[FOXFIELDZOO]

We too had the same problems with location. Until something came up for April. So I signed up both Jess and I, back in January, and then talked to the woman where we were volunteering. She said it was too early to set the schedule, to wait, and it would be all good. SO, yesterday, she gives us dates, and I go to the site to enter the info, and it would not let me! Said that my email was not on file, yet, they sent me the information to that email? She said she also submitted on her end, and only ONE persons name came through, and she needed about 40 people SO she is making some calls to find out what the deal is. Funny thing, we do not want tickets, we wanted the mickey pins/hat and fp's, as we already have APs....Sadly, I think Disney dropped the ball with this. From the moment the website opened and it crashed, to now ending 9 months early. They should have seen that in this economy, with a lot of people not working, more people would sign up....SO now what for the rest of the year?

Don't go on the buget board and say this they will chastize youI sure got an earfull

 

[FOXFIELDZOO]

Why judge the intention & sincerity of people who spent the time to do the volunteer opportunity just because they did want the free ticket ?? jmho but I'd say the organizations are very happy to have an influx of volunteers and why presume the worst about these GAD volunteers, ie that they don't typically volunteer or engage in charitable endeavors and even if that was the case you're not in a position to determine that they will not be back to offer their time and service in the future. Nothing wrong with connections now made and tapping into this spirit in people, it is ultimately a good thing. Often people who don't volunteer feel that what they can do really is nothing special and/or will not make a difference; I'd bet this promo taught many people otherwise and most will not be waiting around for the next offer of material reward to offer their assistance again.

Thank you for saying what I couldn't

 

[FOXFIELDZOO]

Well said.. I signed up just to be a part..I already have an AP and the voucher is no good monetarily for me unless I jump through many hoops on site and I still don't know what I'll do with it. I crocheted a Project Linus blanket and my DH did a fleece one. I already crochet sweaters for Knit for Kids, but really enjoyed the blanket so will mix it up and do both charities now..also, if I run across a good deal on fleece my DH would be happy to make more blankets..so it worked..I learned about a new charity I can contribute to.

Just a question? Does Project Linus have a web sit ? that was never an listed in my area,I love to crochet and there are only so many blankets my kids need ,would love to do this for them

 

[Inkmahm]

Don't go on the buget board and say this they will chastize youI sure got an earfull

Why?

 

[polkadotsuitcase]

I hope people still volunteer even without the incentive.

Our family has always volunteered -- even when the kiddos were very young, we made sure to do things for the community.

I'm glad Disney did this promotion. There weren't opps near us that fit the bill. So we ended up signing up for something in Charleston, SC -- a six-hour drive away. We made a whole 3-day camping trip based around that one Saturday morning. It was a blast.

And we're donating the tix we earned.

We got to learn about the local environment in coastal SC, met some super fun families, and really felt good about the whole experience. So good, in fact, that I'm thinking we'll try to find some local volunteer opps on our other travel adventures this year.

Bottom line: If this promo got some families thinking more about volunteering than they would have otherwise, tix or no, I think that's a good thing.

 

[omalley1118]

OMG!!! I just sugned up a few days ago with DD. We are volunteering this wknd at an animal shelter. DH and DS were going to choose something later...

 

[keishashadow]

I just got my tickets yesterday! I'm not sure what day we'll be going but once they email us the tickets they can't take them back, right?

Im still unclear on how to proceed with the actual voucher. Im thinking once you know the day you want to use it, then you print it? Not sure if accurate, I read somewhere here you can do it @ guest services even?

I agree with you, it is a great promo. Sure you could get a free ticket but at least people had to perform volunteer service for the freebie which jmho is better than just giving a ticket for birthday as was case during What Will You Celebrate promo. 1 million in under 3 months is an impressive number.

My family volunteers for serveral organizations as our schedules permit. Hopefully, this will motivate some folks who never considered the concept.

I know of several people (who have no interest in visiting Disney parks) who signed up, completed their service, then donated their tickets...double reward