Late last night I posted a link on my facebook fanpage to a new opportunity the Disney theme parks will provide in 2010. I first saw it as a status post from my childhood next door neighbor. Basically, if register with Disney and volunteer with a participating organization, Disney theme park will provide you a free ticket to attend either Disneyland or Walt Disney World. I’m happy to see many people posting the same link.
It’s such a beautiful concept.
Step 1: Encourage people to volunteer
Step 2: People volunteer
Step 3: Give people a reward for volunteering
Step 4: People celebrate that reward with you
Disney continues to impress me. First they have the special “Celebrate your Birthday with us” promotion in 2009 where you can get a free admission to a Disney theme park on your birthday. Now, they extend this hospitality through volunteering. In these tough economic times, it’s nice to see a company innovate and actually provide more services for their customers. In the meantime, Disney is also actively impacting its larger community through the volunteer service of those same customers.
Could we do the same?
What prevents us from providing free dance tickets or admission to a football game for students that participate in a can food drive at our school or a neighborhood cleanup? What prevents us from randomly selecting 10 free convention registrations from the list of our attendees based on engagement in one of our special events throughout the year?
Yes, there is a cost factor associated with it. By the initial numbers, Disney will be giving out one million free passes which will easily amount to over $50 million.
But look closer. Those million people might be friends. They might buy food in the park. Park attendance can keep up and active.
Most importantly, Disney currently dominates the social media feed by doing something great: helping to make our communities the happiest places on Earth.
As I said, I like the idea. I need to figure out my own version of it for 2010. Keep your eyes open for announcement in early 2010.
In the meantime, find a way to serve. With or without Disney tickets, it still is a great way to spread happiness.