LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., Dec. 8, 2009 – Warm holiday wishes filled the air at sunset on December 6 as more than 1,400 community leaders gathered to enjoy a performance of the Candlelight Processional at Epcot’s America Gardens Theatre. A Walt Disney World Resort holiday tradition since 1971 (hosted at Epcot since 1994), the illuminating event showcases the reason for the season through memorable music and the retelling of the Christmas story.

Tony Award winner Anika Noni Rose, the voice of Princess Tiana in Disney’s new animated feature “The Princess and the Frog,” provided heartfelt narration; joined by the Voices of Liberty, a mass choir comprised of local high school choruses and Walt Disney Cast Members and a 50-piece live orchestra.

In lieu of holding a reception after the performance, Walt Disney World Resort president Meg Crofton announced that donations would be made to the Health Care Center for the Homeless and Second Harvest of Central Florida’s Kids’ Café program. Both charities were pleasantly surprised by the announcement; each will receive $15,000 and can immediately put the funds to use.

“This is a great Christmas gift that a lot of our patients will benefit from,” said Health Care Center for the Homeless CEO Bakari Burns, who shared they plan to use the funds toward their mammography services and denture sponsorship program.

“Disney’s donation of $15,000 will go a long way in supporting our Kids’ Cafés,” said Second Harvest of Central Florida executive director Dave Krepcho. “After-school programs for children are even more important these days because the current economy has put a strain on many families’ resources. The thousands of meals provided with these funds are much appreciated.”

Health Care Center for the Homeless improves the lives of the homeless in Central Florida by providing quality health care services to indigent people; medical support that was once unavailable in our community prior to the charity’s founding. To learn more, visit http://www.hcch.org/.

Second Harvest Florida Bank of Central Florida’s Kids Café is an after-school program that provides nutritious meals to children from low-income families in a safe, secure environment. Find out more by visiting http://www.foodbankcentralflorida.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AboutUs_OurPrograms_KidsCafe.