Ford And Disney Join Forces for Kiwi Kids
Ford And Disney Join Forces for Kiwi Kids
Ford runs Toy Story car in Variety Trillian Bash
Ford New Zealand has partnered with Disney to help raise funds for disadvantaged Kiwi kids.
Ford has supported Variety – The Children’s Charity through the Variety Trillian Bash for 25 years, but the 1963 Ford Zephyr it ran in the fund-raising road rally has finally succumbed to rust.
Brainstorming at head office around a replacement that would entertain kids and keep their parents interested resulted in an approach to Disney for permission to theme a new XR8.
Communications and Government Affairs manager Tom Clancy says “Disney and Pixar were more than keen, especially when we told them about the more than 4000 kids we’d visit on the 25th Anniversary Bash. They not only agreed we could use Toy Story imagery but came up with the fantastic look – reminding us it’s 20 years since the first film came out.”
But Disney went one further to help disadvantaed and rural New Zealand children.
“It donated 23 school packs of DVDs, books and games – easily over NZ$6000 in value. Our team of Ford employees are distributing those packs to rural schools during the week, along with other Disney goodies the American entertainment giant gave us to tuck in goody bags during the Variety Trillian Bash.”
Mr Clancy says Ford New Zealand was blown away by the level of support Disney gave to help Kiwi children on the other side of the world.
His staff are currently in Tauranga and preparing to deliver Disney goodies to children on Matakana island, before finishing Fridayoff at Cambridge.
On Saturday the Toy Story Ford will join the 30-vehicle Variety Bash convoy en route for Ellerslie, via Thames, where the Bash will finish where the first one started, at Ellerslie, in Auckland.
ENDS