Disney makes big donation to local high school

CLERMONT, Fla. (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - Disney is making a big donation to a local school where the band equipment was recently ruined in a fire.

A $20,000 check was presented at East Ridge High School in Clermont Friday morning.

“Right now, we are just stunned and in awe. We had no idea this was going to be going on,” said Band Director Jack Hart.

The big surprise came after some bad news.

A fire broke out in the band room last week. 

Clermont firefighters shared photos of the charred mess left behind.

“Initially, I thought it was a small thing, but after getting in and seeing it visually, then I realized the extent of it - how it really just destroyed our instrument room,” Hart said in an interview with Disney.

A GoFundMe page picked up steam quickly and more than $16,000 has been raised.

Then, the big announcement came from Disney.

“It’s football season. We need to get those kids back out there on the field and having a good time, so we really wanted to jump in and make a little bit of magic with this donation,” said Rena Langley, Senior Vice President of Communication and Public Affairs for Disney World.

The band’s next football game is September 27.