Since 1992, Disney for Kids has sent over 2,000 at-risk kids to Walt Disney World in Florida.  Nobody is better qualified to convey the Disney for Kids impact than Mary Scannell, VP of Education at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dorchester.  Mary has planned and chaperoned all 24 Disney trips, and here’s what she has to say:

Thank you for offering so many children a chance to enjoy the Magic of Disney! As I walk through the parks with the kids, I think about the word “magical” a lot. One of the things Disney is so great at is the art of marketing the magic. Everything is truly “magical,” both in the parks and for the kids. I think the Disney for Kids trip is something you may not be able to understand unless you experience it for yourself. Putting it into words is difficult – I guess you just can’t explain magic, but maybe you can get a sense of it through some of my experiences.

Watching kids who have never left the city enter an airport with their suitcase is magical. Observing them look out over the clouds as we fly across the sky is magical. Have you ever seen a kid who has never stayed at a hotel? Give them a key to their own room to be shared with their friends and watch them jump on the bed – magic! Mickey Mouse waffles for breakfast? Magical. A pool out back? Magical. Ordering anything they want for lunch? Magic!

Five days spent riding coasters, splashing at the water park, meeting Mickey Mouse, eating cotton candy, watching parades and fireworks, meeting new friends, dancing in the street, and escaping the concrete world that is often all they know, to make fun and happy memories…pure magic!

I have watched a magical transformation happen in hundreds of kids over the years during this trip. They let go of the “negative” in their lives while on the trip. They are free to run and play and just be a kid for five days. They change…some a little and some a lot. They see things differently and are so appreciative for the experience. Again, its hard to explain – but it happens. I see it, I feel it, and I know it.

If  Mary’s comments resonate with you, if you’ve witnessed the magic of Disney, if you’re a believer in kids being kids- please consider supporting Disney for Kids.