Foundation of the Month: Disneyland Resort

It is not easy to find someone who has been a friend for over 30 years. But the homeless within Orange County have long been blessed by the relationship that the Orange County Rescue Mission has had with Disneyland Resort spanning that many years. It is hard to summarize in a brief article, the extent of the relationship or the real value that has been provided through Disney. As times have continued to turn difficult for those in need in our community, Disney has continued to find creative ways to continue their long-sustained support, either through their volunteer programs or through generous donations.

For instance back in 2005, when the Gulf Coast was hit so hard by Hurricane Katrina, Disney was one of the first donors who stepped up to assist the over 1,100 evacuees who fled to Orange County. At that time, OperationOC was a newly formed disaster response organization led by OCRM and Disney arrived to help with a full truck of donated essential supplies for Katrina evacuees.

Under the Show Your Character program, Disney promoted partnerships with high schools and non-profit organizations encouraging students to become leaders in their community. In 2006, Lutheran High School of Orange County partnered with OCRM and 200 Lutheran High School seniors volunteered at the Rescue Mission’s Village of Hope. They renovated the facility (see adjacent photo) and also helped to refurbish a playground area at the Mission’s shelter for homeless women with children. A third construction team of students worked on a project at Double R Ranch, an equestrian facility for abused children. Because of their outstanding volunteer efforts, Lutheran High received the Show Your Character Excellence Award which provided significant funds for the Orange County Rescue Mission! Lutheran High partnered with OCRM again in 2007, receiving even more funds for the homeless!

In 2009, the remarkable volunteer organization of Disney, VoluntEARS, provided a grant which enabled homeless adults to attend college through the Summer Academic Institute. In 2010, another planned event with VoluntEARS will reach out to the homeless school-age children at the Village of Hope by contributing to the Summer to Remember program.

Disney has provided essential community support through OCRM, when the VoluntEARS have held food drives, delivered box lunches to the working poor in local motels, and hosted gift-giving Christmas events with the Mission, bringing smiles to the faces of the homeless children.

OCRM has been the beneficiary of Cast Community Fund and Community Service Award grants which have been used directly to provide needs to homeless men, women and children. Six times a year, Disney delivers donations consisting of their unique brand of merchandise, including toys, colorful Disney T-shirts and backpacks, much to the delight of the homeless families who receive them.

The Orange County Rescue Mission truly values this long friendship with Disney and is so very grateful for their generous and loyal support towards the homeless. Disney has been a big part of making the Orange County Rescue Mission a happier place to be!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Volunteer Spotlight: June Malchow

She may be retired, but she is far from retiring. June Malchow formerly worked in the banking industry, but when she retired from employment last year she quickly became bored with the quiet life and has transformed herself into a volunteering tornado.

June has been a long-term financial supporter of the work of the Orange County Rescue Mission. She began donating some 25 years ago when a member of her family experienced a period of homelessness; she has continued to make regular donations ever since.

June was looking forward to retiring and "taking it easy" from work last July, but after only a short while she suffered a resurgence of her depressive illness that she attributes to not having sufficient order in her life. When she had recovered, after medical treatment, June thought about volunteering as a means of adding an extra layer of interest to her week. Naturally enough, the Orange County Rescue Mission came immediately to mind.

In September last year, June attended an orientation meeting and decided to volunteer for three hours a week assisting with filing in the Volunteer Management office. She was shortly to transfer to the case management office where she is currently supporting three case workers with their filing requirements. She says, "I feel useful doing this work, I like to organize things and it frees up the time for the case workers to spend more time counseling the residents."

June has obviously made a strong impression on the other staff, she adds modestly, "I don't need them to thank me, I really enjoy the work and it helps me even more than I help them." There is a possibility that all filing will be centralized in the near future and June expects that if this happens she will be involved with filing for a full day each week.

June strongly commends the work of the Orange County Rescue Mission for putting order and structure into the lives of the residents, as well as providing a caring environment for their Spiritual growth. She explains, "I think one of the main things that homeless people lack is a clear structure to their lives; the Rescue Mission provides this vital sense of order for them."

The turning point for June was attending the volunteer orientation at the Rescue Mission. She suggests that anyone with time on their hands take a good look at the work OCRM is doing by attending a similar event getting involved in whatever area in which their skills can be best used.

Thank you, June! Keep up the good work.