More than 600,000 people have volunteered or signed up to volunteer for the Give a Day, Get a Disney Day promotion in the first six weeks of January 2010. Tom Staggs, chairman of Disney Parks and Resorts, announced that impressive number this morning at a media event at Walt Disney World, where he was joined by Kermit the Frog.

“Give a Day, Get a Disney Day,” allows people from the United States and Canada to select an approved volunteer activity through the Hands-On Network, give of their time and get a 1-day ticket to a Disney Park in return. Disney has said that the goal is to inspire 1 million people to volunteer this year.

“Our dream at HandsOn Network is for everyone to recognize their power to make a difference. Disney is helping us make that dream a reality, a million times over,” said Michelle Nunn, co-founder of the HandsOn Network.

Disney brought in volunteering families from 48 states and Puerto Rico to take part in volunteer activities today with Disney Channel stars Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas.

They also unveiled a gigantic sculpture made out of cans of food and featuring four familiar faces:

So what does all this hoopla mean for you? Well, it means you’d better hurry up and volunteer if you want to get your hands on one of those free Walt Disney World or Disneyland tickets this year!

Disney ‘overwhelmed’ by response to Give a Day, Get a Disney Day promotion is a post from Family travel blog Theme Park Mom

To promote Disney’s “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” promotion, a huge sculpture made from cans of food was unveiled to the media today in a ceremony at EPCOT.

Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto were on hand to raise the balloons concealing the sculpture behind the stage. They were joined by Extreme Home Makeover host Ty Pennington, who used his ever present bullhorn to urge the crowd to “raise the balloons.”

Here are some facts about this larger-than-life attention getter:

• 115,000 cans were used to build the structure. That’s 44 tons of food — enough to provide 70,000 meals to the needy.
• It took four days and more than 500 hours to build the mammoth wall.
• If all the cans used were stacked on top of each other, the top can would be more than a mile above the summit of Mt. Everest. And we’re not talking about the Disney version, we’re talking about the real 29,000 foot mountain.
• Guinness World Records authenticated the wall as the largest canned food structure ever created. The previous record-holder had a mere 54,000 cans.

• Mickey Mouse’s head was shaped from cans of black olives.
• Pluto’s eyes are made of sliced pineapple cans.
• Goofy’s face features cans of Atlantic salmon.
• Donald Duck’s hat is made of cans of tuna.
• All of the characters’ pupils were constructed of pans of popcorn.
• The structure is being dismantled today, and the food will be trucked to food banks in Central Florida, Miami and Atlanta.

“Give a Day, Get a Disney Day,” offers volunteers who participate in qualifying activities a free visit to a Disney park during 2010.

Walt Disney World sets world record for structure made from canned food is a post from Family travel blog Theme Park Mom

Disney is calling 2010 the “Year to Volunteer,” and Disney Parks is rewarding those who serve with free Disney tickets.

This campaign is a big boon for families, because it allows all members of the family to go to Walt Disney World or Disneyland for free on the same day. This differs from the birthday campaign last year, where only the birthday boy or girl got in free.

Disney has teamed up with the HandsOn Network for this promotion. I have worked with the Hands-On Network to volunteer in the past, and I love it. It’s an easy way to become involved in your community and to “sample” different types of community service organizations before committing to volunteer long-term for one.

Here’s how the “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” campaign works:

1. Sign up for a volunteer opportunity online. Opportunities are offered in communities throughout the United States and Canada. You must sign up for an approved opportunity through this site. There is no alternate way to document volunteer hours.
2. Complete your volunteer service and do some good in your community!
3. The volunteer organization will verify your service and you’ll get an e-mail from Disney with a voucher.
4. Redeem your voucher for a 1-day, 1-park ticket and have some fun!

Some tips about using Disney’s “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” program for a free ticket:

• Kids ages 6 and up can participate. Be sure to look at the minimum age required for the different volunteer opportunities. When browsing the opportunities in my area, I found several that my 6-year-old daughter would enjoy, including visiting with nursing home residents and making crafts and cards for shut-in seniors.
• You must own a residence in the United States or Canada to be eligible, but you do not have to be a U.S. citizen. Citizens of other countries who own vacation homes here can sign up for volunteer service while they are in the United States and take advantage of this program.
• The Web site lists volunteer activities for the next 60 days. There are new ones being added all the time, so if you don’t see something that interests you now, check back later.
• Disney says that the Hands On Network reaches 83 percent of the U.S. population. I have searched some rural areas and found that the closest opportunities were sometimes 50-100 miles away. If you live in a rural area, remember that you can search and sign up for opportunities anywhere. Perhaps you could combine your volunteer service with a family trip you already have planned.
• You will need a driver’s license, government-issued photo ID or passport to redeem your voucher at the ticket window. Children under 18 who don’t have one of these will need a copy of their birth certificate.
• If you have a multi-day ticket or annual pass, you can use your voucher for a FASTPASS special exchange card or a special ear hat figurine with trading pins. Or you can choose to donate your free ticket to a non-profit organization.
• There are blackout dates for this promotion. You cannot use your voucher to get a free ticket March 29-April 8 or July 4 at Walt Disney World. At Disneyland, the blackout dates are Feb. 13-14, March 21, June 21-22, July 4, Nov. 21 and Dec. 11-12.
• This Give a Day, Get a Disney Day promotion ends on Dec. 15, 2009. You must use your ticket voucher by this date.

Here’s one of Disney’s TV ads about the new program. It features some folks I love, the Muppets. And Taye Diggs isn’t so bad to look at either.

Volunteer in 2010 and get a free Walt Disney World or Disneyland ticket is a post from Family travel blog Theme Park Mom