• About Friends For Change
  • FAQ

DISNEY'S FRIENDS FOR CHANGE — Helping People, Communities, and the Planet!

Disney's Friends for Change is about taking steps together with your friends and family to make a positive impact on the world and the people and animals that live here. Our mission is to provide you with the information, tools, encouragement and inspiration to become stewards of change. As more kids across the globe become involved, through even the smallest of actions, we can begin to make big changes.

BECOME A FRIEND FOR CHANGE!

There are many ways that you can TAKE ACTION and help to create change!

SIMPLE ACTIONS YOU CAN DO YOURSELF:

  • Make Your Pledge:Commit to take positive action in your daily life! Make pledges in one (or more) of four categories: Let's get outdoors, Disaster relief, Make a difference with your friends and family, and Planet actions, including pledges around Climate, Habitat, Waste and Water.

  • Hands-On Activities: Download online activities!

  • Spontaneous Actions: Simply take action. Instead of walking by that cup or piece of paper on the ground, pick it up and throw it away. Leave a place better than you found it.

FRIENDS AND FAMILIES:

  • Get Your Friends Together: Start your own Friends for Change (FFC) Club! This can be a green club, volunteer club, kindness club; the sky is the limit!

  • Apply for a Friends for Change Grant: Take your FFC club to the next level. Propose a project for change in your community and apply for a grant to help make that project a reality. The next round of granting will begin in December 2011.

  • Volunteer: Gather your friends and family and take action! Volunteer for something relevant to your community. This could be anything from serving at a food bank to participating in a local tree planting.

YOUR SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY:

  • FFC "New Friends" Club: With your friends and new friends, come together to explore our different worlds. We can learn so much from each other! Start a FFC "New Friends" Club in your community. Reach out to new friends to join your club! It can be a new student at your school or a new neighbor!

  • Disney's Planet Challenge: Be a Friend for Change in your classroom! Ask your teacher to consider enrolling your classroom in Disney's Planet Challenge — an environmental competition that brings your class together as a team to create positive change in your community.

HELP DISNEY DONATE MONEY TO AWESOME CAUSES:

Would you like to help Disney take action? Disney donates to charities and projects around the globe. Visit the EXPLORE & VOTE section to vote and help decide how and where Disney will make its donations.

What is Disney Friends for Change?

Disney's Friends for Change is a program encouraging kids, friends, and families to join together and create lasting positive change in their world and be better global citizens. Our mission is to provide you with the information, tools, encouragement and inspiration to become stewards of change. With millions of dollars funded to projects tied to conservation, community and youth-led projects, as more kids across the globe become involved, Disney's Friends for Change shows how even the smallest of actions can add up to big changes that positively help people, communities and the planet.

Friends for Change helps kids become involved by:

1. Inspiring us all to work together to make small daily changes that add up to a big difference.
2. Helping us make big change by voting on how and where Disney will make donations to charities and projects around the globe.

Why did Disney create Friends for Change?

Disney was inspired by kids' enthusiasm to take practical steps towards positive change in the world around them and to take part in collective actions that will make a difference for people, communities and the planet.

Creating your Friends for Change log in is quick and easy. With it, you can...


  • take actions and report on progress
  • see how others' collective actions add up in a big way
  • vote on how and where Disney makes donations that support charities and projects around the globe

What is a pledge?

Pledging is basically like making a promise to make small changes in your everyday life, like volunteering with local charities, recycling, learning about disaster preparedness, or showing kindness to community members in need. IT IS FREE and will help people, communities and the planet in big ways!

How do I pledge to take action?

To take action and pledge, you must be a registered member of Disney.com. (THIS IS FREE!) Once you’ve created an account, you can go to disney.com/projectgreen, click Take Action, locate the action(s) you want to take and click on the action(s) to make your pledge(s).

How do I vote as part of Friends for Change?

To vote, you must be a registered member of Disney.com. Go to disney.com/projectgreen, login, and click Explore & Vote. Read about each of the projects and vote for your favorite. Each week, you will be able to return to the site, log in and cast another vote. Remember, once you choose the project don’t forget to hit the “Submit” button to cast your vote.

Where do I learn more about the projects?

Go to the Explore and Vote section and click on Your Votes in Action to see past projects voted on by kids like you, including programs aimed at helping to protect endangered forests and wildlife, along with projects to support the betterment of children's lives across the globe. While reading about each you can find images, videos and project updates to learn more about how these projects are helping the communities and the planet. And make sure to vote for your favorite project in our Explore & Vote section, now!

What are Disney Friends for Change Grants?

Disney, together with Youth Service America (YSA), is proud to offer Disney’s Friends for Change Grants to help kids that are making environmentally friendly changes in their communities. Disney’s Friends for Change Grants are open to schools, organizations and individuals planning service projects and will focus on projects implemented by children ages 5-18. Visit the Friends for Change website and click on the Disney Friends for Change grant logo and stay informed on all grant application information.

How does my project get featured on Disney Channel? Will talent come to my school?

We award Disney's Friends for Change youth grants each year to over 150 kids executing projects in their communities and schools. Kids can learn online how to apply for a grant at disney.com/projectgreen (http://ysa.org/grants/disney-friends-change-grants). We review these stories and select features for Disney Channel and local community events.

What is Disney's Planet Challenge?

Disney's Planet Challenge is the in-school edition of Disney's Friends for Change. It is a free, classroom-based, environmental competition encouraging kids like you to make a difference in school, at home and in your local communities. As a class you select a local environmental issue to research and create a class project seeking real life solutions to the selected issue. The completed project is submitted as a portfolio. Past prizes have included a class trip to Disneyland, school grants, advance screenings of Disney Nature films and a Disney concert at the winning school. For more information, please visit http://disney.go.com/planetchallenge.

How do I participate in Disney's Planet Challenge?

Be a Friend for Change and take it to the next level: participate in Disney's Planet Challenge. Do you want to make a difference? Are you in 3rd – 8th grade? Ask your teacher if Disney's Planet Challenge is right for your classroom. For more information, your teacher can visit http://disney.go.com/planetchallenge.

Can't find the answer to your question?

For additional information, click http://home.disney.go.com/guestservices/ to contact customer support and follow the "Contact Us" directions. Please be specific when describing problems or requests - you should receive a response within 48 hours of receipt. And remember, business hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 10:00 PM (ET).