Give, as long as you get: Volunteering for Benefits
With Disney’s “Give a day Get a day” promotion volunteers are asked to “give a day” of service and, as a reward, “get a day” with a free ticket to Disney Theme Parks. I’m sad to see the principle of “doing good unto others” sold for a free ride on Space Mountain.
While the current economy has cut into the fund raising efforts for many of our local non-profits, I am glad that volunteers are able to step in and assist with man-hours. However, I really feel that “right motives” are equally important.
Yesterday the D&C’s reported in the article, Disney offer causes surge in volunteers that Rochester -area groups hope to sustain, that several agencies in Rochester have noticed an increase in volunteer requests which they are linking to the Disney offer. However, the question remains as to the motive behind this spike in volunteerism:
Doing something good for others is the core of volunteerism, so when Disney offered its promotional campaign to entice more volunteers, Nash (of Heritage Christian Services) was skeptical and leery of these new-found recruits.
Aside from a couple of requests that Nash said were “solely driven” by the prospects of the free ticket, Nash said nearly all of Heritage’s 92 volunteers who completed their projects gave their time for the right reasons: to benefit those children and adults with mental and developmental disabilities served by Heritage.
What message is being sent with this program? What does this teach younger generations about community involvement or just doing the right thing– should they start looking for rewards after cleaning their room… doing well in school… being kind to others?
The Disney promotion of “giving a day” may also be a bit misleading. While volunteer opportunities are added regularly, a little background research indicated that there are many opportunities that require less than 3 hours of service before receiving your ticket. One Florida blood bank is also giving credit for those who donate at specified events.
And when nothing is ever free, I’m wondering how Disney stands to benefit with this promotion as well?
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if their profit structure is similar to minor league sports it is likely they make more off food and souvenirs than the ticket itself. get folks in the door all day and they have to buy one or two meals for a family plus some mouse ears and the empire is sustained.