Story at a glance
- Disney announced it was laying off 28,00 employees earlier this month.
- The coronavirus pandemic has devastated the tourism industry in Central Florida.
- The people behind a Disney tourist blog have raised more than $50,000 for a local food bank.
Sarah and Tom Bricker don’t care if you’re a fan of their blog or just “hate-read” it. Either way, all they want is to raise money to help the thousands in central Florida who have been devastated by the pandemic and the loss of tourism.
“Whether you live here in Central Florida or not, this is your community too as a Walt Disney World fan. The painful reality is that many people who only six months ago were helping make all of our vacations magical are now in need of help themselves,” they wrote on Disney Tourist Blog.
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The couple started the blog in 2011 to provide photos, tips and opinions on everything Disney — without the fluff. “You will seldom find meaningless fluff words like’ magical’ here, and this blog most certainly is not ‘sprinkled with pixie dust,’ ” reads the website.
But the Brickers care about their community and the travel industry, kicking off their campaign with a $500 donation of their own. After indefinite furloughs of executive, salaried and nonunion hourly theme park employees in April, Disney is laying off 28,000 workers even as its resorts and theme parks begin to reopen. The layoffs follow others in Orange and Osceola counties, where the unemployment rate is now more than 11 percent, including at SeaWorld and Universal Orlando.
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“They raised the first $25,000 within 24 hours and as of this morning have raised over $37,000,” Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida spokeswoman Erika Spence told CNN on Sunday. “Each dollar raised can provide four meals to families in need.”
After blowing past their original goal and then a second goal of $30,000, the Brickers had raised more than $50,000 as of Tuesday afternoon. The money will go to the same food bank Disney had donated excess food to when the park first closed due to coronavirus in March. The couple told CNN they didn’t want to exclude others in need and haven’t asked Second Harvest to earmark these funds specifically for employees of area theme parks.
“Our hearts go out to all Cast Members and their families who are impacted by these layoffs and furloughs. We cannot fathom the devastation, fear, anxiety, and range of other emotions that comes with losing your dream position. So many Cast Members have made so much magic for all of us over the years, and this should help to begin to repay a little of that,” the Brickers wrote on their blog.
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