As part of the The Congressional Privacy Caucus, Representative Markey (D- Mass.) has sent a letter to Bob Iger, CEO of the Disney corporation to ask several pointed questions about privacy concerns relating to the new MagicBand and MyMagic+ systems. Disney had intended to begin rolling out these systems in the coming months – rumors say as early as February for select resort locations – and was gaining publicity for the innovative data collection and park experience customization systems in the media, in particular the New York Times.
The New York Times articles is cited several times in the letter from Markey to Iger as a basis for the questions the caucus is asking. Technically the caucus is not a formal committee and has no subpoena power, but Disney is expected to respond with at least minimal answers to quell public worry over their systems.
The new $22,500 scholarship program was created as a higher education extension of StormStruck: A Tale of Two Homes®, a popular interactive severe weather experience at INNOVENTIONS at Epcot® at the Walt Disney World® Resort. StormStruck is sponsored by FLASH and four of its partners: RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.; WeatherPredict Consulting Inc., an affiliate of RenaissanceRe; Simpson Strong-Tie® and State Farm®.
One $1,500 annual scholarship will be awarded in each StormStruck sponsor’s name. All five scholarships are available to master and doctorate-degree students and are as follows:
RenaissanceRe® Risk Management Scholarship – for students performing research on the identification, assessment or prioritization of risk as it relates to natural disaster liabilities.
Simpson Strong-Tie® Structural Engineering & Construction Scholarship – for students performing research on resilient construction materials or techniques.
State Farm® Financial Services Scholarship – for students performing research on financial analysis, investment management or corporate finance as they relate mitigating the effects of, responding to or recovery from natural disasters.
WeatherPredict Consulting Inc. Meteorology Scholarship – for students performing research on meteorology or meteorological risk modeling as it relates to natural disasters.
FLASH Social Science Scholarship – for students performing research on behavior change, societal effects or other social aspects as they relate to natural disaster mitigation or preparation.
“With these scholarships, FLASH and its partners are taking the study of mitigation to higher education for the first time ever,” said Leslie Chapman-Henderson, President and CEO of FLASH. “We’re creating an educational link between traditional disciplines that support mitigation – like meteorology, insurance, construction and engineering — as a field of study and practice.”
This year’s application process opens Dec. 1, 2011 and closes Feb. 15, 2012. Scholarship awardees will be notified in March regarding their selection as 2012/2013 recipients. Winners will be recognized at the 2012 FLASH Annual Meeting in October at Lake Buena Vista, FL at which they will be required to present their research findings as posters. For more details on the open application process, interested individuals are encouraged to visit http://www.flash.org/scholarship.
StormStruck is designed to help guests learn their risks for natural disasters, understand their property-protection and safety options and take action today to protect their families and their homes. In a 100,000-square-foot venue, StormStruck allows guests of all ages to experience a spectacular 4-D windstorm and team up to build a home that can withstand severe weather. Guests play fun-filled disaster safety games, create storm kits, take interactive quizzes on natural disasters local to their zip codes and can even create simulated mini-storms.
Minnie Mouse joined Disney VoluntEARS today to deliver bushels of green to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida in the form of a $500,000 gift for the organization’s expansion. Disney also pledged 20,000 pounds of fresh produce during the next year as part of the commitment.
As part of Disney’s efforts to support organizations and programs that make a positive impact on children in the local community, this gift will fund Second Harvest’s “Building Solutions to Hunger” capital campaign. The contribution will help the organization build a larger facility so it can accept and distribute significantly more food and reach more Central Floridians in need.
“We’re confident the new facility will help Second Harvest reach even more neighbors in need,” said Nancy Gidusko, director of community relations for Walt Disney World Resort. “Our goal is to help bring an end to hunger in this community, and we are proud to join with other generous donors to bring this new facility to life,”
According to Second Harvest, the need for additional space at the organization’s headquarters is critical in reaching more children who are hungry in the community.
“The harsh reality is that the demand for our services continues to grow, and our infrastructure must grow with it,” said Dave Krepcho president and CEO of Second Harvest. “Capacity is king in the world of hunger relief, and a new facility will provide the ability to more than double our current distribution over the next 10-15 years. The gift from Walt Disney World Resort will directly help many thousands of Central Floridians.”
Second Harvest Food Bank will more than triple its cooler and freezer capacities in the new building, enabling the organization to accept and deliver thousands of pounds of additional food when then facility opens.
One way in which Second Harvest collects food for donation is the Disney Harvest program, in which excess prepared and unserved food from locations throughout Walt Disney World Resort are collected and delivered to the food bank five days a week. Since 1991, Walt Disney World Resort has donated several million pounds of food to the Second Harvest Food Bank as part of this program.
The food donated from Walt Disney World Resort feeds more than 1,000 local kids a week at more than 60 nonprofit organizations located in Central Florida, including homeless shelters, soup kitchens, after-school centers and day care centers for children and seniors.
By serving as the food bank’s pilot 20 years ago, Walt Disney World Resort helped establish the prepared and perishable food program at Second Harvest.
Earlier this year, Walt Disney World awarded a $50,000 Disney Helping Kids Shine grant to Second Harvest. The organization is one of many local groups Walt Disney World supports through the outreach efforts of Disney VoluntEARS, collaboration with local community leaders and millions of dollars in cash and in-kind support to local organizations. In 2010, Walt Disney World Resort donated $28 million in cash and in-kind support and provided 228,000 hours of volunteer service from Disney VoluntEARS.
