Santa Clarita Valley club gets $5,000, 50 park tickets and a promise of VoluntEARS.

The Walt Disney Company recently made a $235,000 donation to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Los Angeles and OrangeCounties. As part of this contribution, which included a $15,000 gift to the LA Alliance, the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clarita Valley, along with each of the other 43 Clubs in the counties, received a $5,000 donation from Disney toward program support as well as 50 tickets to Disneyland Resort. In addition, Disney will continue to support the Clubs through the Company’s VoluntEAR efforts as Disney VoluntEARS remain on hand helping to facilitate year-round Club projects and events.

“We are grateful for the partnership that we have with Disney,” Jim Ventress, chief professional officer of the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clarita Valley, said. “Both our organizations are committed to improving the lives of children.”

The Walt Disney Company’s Ron Iden, senior vice president of Global Security, presented the gifts to Los Angeles Alliance Director, David Walker, at a special ceremony April 1 at the Los Angeles Boys & Girls Club. Los Angeles Police Department Assistant Chief, Jim McDonnell, also attended to personally congratulate the recipients.

As part of a commitment made by the Company last spring, Disney will also present one full-sized, 12-passenger van every year to a local Club, worth approximately $35,000. Iden presented a van to this year’s recipient, the Los Angeles Boys & Girls Club, after which, Club members staged a special performance in celebration of the support of The Walt Disney Company.

“As a corporate leader in Southern California, Disney is dedicated to making a difference in the lives of children and families all across the region,” said Joan McCarthy, director, Los Angeles Community Relations, The Walt Disney Company. “We know that through our relationship with the Boys & Girls Clubs, and with the help of our Disney VoluntEARS, we impact thousands of children on a daily basis to help keep them safe, happy and on a positive path in life.”

Since 2005, Disney has committed more than $7 million to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), including a $1 million contribution to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Anaheim, the single largest gift the organization has received in its 16-year history; a total of $250,000 to 44 Boys & Girls Clubs in Los Angeles and Orange Counties; and a $1 million gift towards the rebuilding of 16 Boys & Girls Clubs in the Gulf region that were damaged or destroyed by the hurricanes. Disney’s history with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America spans more than 50 years, beginning when Walt Disney was an honorary member of the organization’s board of directors.

The Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clarita Valley is a member of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, an organization with more than 3,000 clubs nationwide.  The local Club was formed in 1968 by a group of community leaders who recognized the need for high-quality programs and facilities at affordable costs for area young people. The Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clarita Valley now serves more than 3,500 youth, ages 7-17, at facilities in Newhall, Canyon Country and Val Verde.  Programs engage members in education and career exploration, the arts, sports, recreation and fitness, character and leadership development, and healthy life choices.  For more information, visit www.scvkids.org.