GAD reaching max? Register by *tomorrow* per volunteer member

[doconeill]

OK I am getting totally confused by all of this. Now I registered for GAD mid Feb and I just sent off my Blankets to the Linus Project national headquarters in IL. on Tuesday this week. Am I too late in getting vouchers ? When they say they are no longer giving out vouchers does that mean everyone?

No, you are not too late. if you are properly registered for an opportunity with a completion date, there is a voucher with your name on it waiting for the organization to verify completion.

They will shut down registrations of new opportunities. Right now they have stopped all future "flexible" opportunities, where an unlimited number can participate (I expect Project Linus is an example). Next they will stop all organizations from posting new opportunities, and let the remaining posted ones finish up. Then they will close all registrations.

 

[MMitchell29]

No, you are not too late. if you are properly registered for an opportunity with a completion date, there is a voucher with your name on it waiting for the organization to verify completion.

They will shut down registrations of new opportunities. Right now they have stopped all future "flexible" opportunities, where an unlimited number can participate (I expect Project Linus is an example). Next they will stop all organizations from posting new opportunities, and let the remaining posted ones finish up. Then they will close all registrations.

Doc Thank you so much, I feel better now

 

[shinysparklybubbles]

If someone is still looking for a project and cannot find one locally, the Binky Patrol here in GA will allow you to ship your blankets. So search under 30078 for the zip. They are very quick. They responded to me within a couple of hours and I was signed up on the Disney site. You pick the date you expect the blankets to be delivered as your volunteer date.

Just a thought for those still looking for something. We are making three blankets for myself, hubby and our 8 year old. You can do two smaller blankets (36x36) or one large one (48x72) for each GAD person. They have to be double layered.

I just signed up with them last night and got an email this morning saying they still need blankets and to sign up quick because Disney is getting ready to cut the program off.

 

[darroni]

Received the e-mail below today from Disney when I inquired about the ending date of the program as I have signed up for a volunteer event on May 8th but cannot yet register with the website as this is outside the 60 day sign up window...

Thank you for contacting us regarding the "Give A Day. Get A Disney Day." program.

We can assure you that there will still be tickets available at the time that you want to sign up for your opportunity. We have the notification on the website only to inspire and inform interested guests that this promotion will be ending soon than expected due to its popularity; however, we are not reaching the millionth ticket distribution anytime within the next 2 weeks. Once you have signed up and committed for an activity, you are entitled to the voucher(s) after completion of the work; even if all tickets have been distributed.

As you may know, volunteers may sign up and select an opportunity occurring within the next 60-days. This timeframe encourages our Guests to register for projects where there is a current need. However new opportunities are added as they become available. We apologize that you are not able to register and/or commit for a specific volunteer project at this time.

Thank you for your interest in our "Give A Day. Get A Disney Day."
Program.

 

[doconeill]

Interesting...thanks for posting that.

So it still appears that they are throttling things down by stopping certain types of opportunities, but things still are still in the pipeline. From another email someone posted, they will still allow some new opportunities to be posted. They just aren't allowing the "unlimited" opportunities from being added.

So I'd still call this a Phase 1 closure. Phase 2 will be when they stop allowing all new opportunities from being added. Phase 3 would be when they stop allowing registrations for opportunities, and Phase 4 will be when they declare it a total success...

 

[TinkerbellinLouisian]

I searched for a thread like this after this happened to me today in Baton Rouge, LA...

I stopped by a local animal charity that I was interested in volunteering for...

I was told the program was ending... that WDW had 600,000 volunteers already...

(This was a charity with a NON specific volunteer date)....

I started to ...VERY NICELY...debate this with the guy...saying the program was supposed to end 12/31/2010.... then he actually read to me the email...

So we're hearing the same thing here in Louisiana...and it appears to me...that If I want to take advantage of the GAD...I need to get on the website and volunteer for a Specific Date....

Hugs,
Mary

 

[A Mickeyfan]

The woman who handles the program where I work said that she rec'd a message from Disney telling them about the program shut down as well. She said they told her it was "nearing" the end and they could not take anymore sign ups. Anyone who was not completely registered and on her list (confirmed with HON), will not be eligible to receive a voucher .

 

[A Mickeyfan]

I just went onto their website, and it is still allowing people to "express" an interest If they are going to discontinue it, why can you still do that

 

[elleherself]

It seems that it is still possible to sign up right now, but that Disney has given the organizations it has partnered with the heads up that the well is about to dry up.

I'm glad I got in on this early, and I just signed up my mom as well so she is good. I'm going to use my ticket to renew my annual pass, I'm pretty sure.

 

[Sammie]

this is on the Binky Patrol website:

Volunteers:

Disney is almost at the 1 million ticket mark!

IF you Expressed Interest and have been making blankets at home but have NOT yet delivered them and have NOT COMMITTED to a delivery date, you MUST do so!

If you are not committed to a delivery date, Disney is not reserving a voucher for you.

IF you HAVE committed to a delivery date, you are OK and a voucher is on reserve for you. HOWEVER, if you fail to deliver your blankets on the agreed upon date, we will mark you as a NO-SHOW and you will not receive a voucher from Disney.

 

[aceys_h0ney]

I know its been said if you have a confirmed date you are safe but now I am worried. We are not set to deliver until March 19th. I can't take the stuff to the organization before then. Please talk me down, we will be ok right?

 

[LuvMyEAR]

We had trouble registering our dates on the GAD website. We made our contact with the host organization and had booked our date of service, but when I tried to register the date, the site would not allow me to do so, saying the date of service must be within 60 days. Our committed date was about 65 days out! I couldn't find any satisfactory contact info to reach someone and ask how to get around this. The host organization contact was more than helpful and made arrangements to switch dates.

It was a bit frustrating because there was nothing anywhere to say you could not enter a date further away than 60 days, and it was my understanding that the service only had to be completed in time to get all the documentation in order in time to get your voucher before travel dates.

That said, we'd have cheerfully completed the agreed-upon service without the GAD voucher. I am hoping to find that this is a good fit for us to do regularly in the future. GAD is just a very nice perk!

 

[doconeill]

I know its been said if you have a confirmed date you are safe but now I am worried. We are not set to deliver until March 19th. I can't take the stuff to the organization before then. Please talk me down, we will be ok right?

You are all set. It doesn't matter when the service/delivery date is. You are already counted in the 1 million. They are stopping the posting of certain new opportunities, and will stop all future postings when the time comes and let the existing posted opportunities fill out.

We had trouble registering our dates on the GAD website. We made our contact with the host organization and had booked our date of service, but when I tried to register the date, the site would not allow me to do so, saying the date of service must be within 60 days. Our committed date was about 65 days out! I couldn't find any satisfactory contact info to reach someone and ask how to get around this. The host organization contact was more than helpful and made arrangements to switch dates.

It was a bit frustrating because there was nothing anywhere to say you could not enter a date further away than 60 days, and it was my understanding that the service only had to be completed in time to get all the documentation in order in time to get your voucher before travel dates.

That said, we'd have cheerfully completed the agreed-upon service without the GAD voucher. I am hoping to find that this is a good fit for us to do regularly in the future. GAD is just a very nice perk!

I think the problem is that you didn't sign up for a posted opportunity, but arranged your own for one that wasn't posted yet. Disney has from day one only allowed signing up for an opportunity that was 60 days or less out. Th FAQ does specify "Volunteer opportunities are posted a limited time in advance of the date of opportunity.". The limited time has been generally 60 days. They don't want people signing too far in advance as it would complicate their ability to control the numbers.

 

[doconeill]

(This was a charity with a NON specific volunteer date)....

I started to ...VERY NICELY...debate this with the guy...saying the program was supposed to end 12/31/2010.... then he actually read to me the email...

Whoops...

"The program begins January 1, 2010 and continues until tickets are distributed or December 15, 2010, whichever occurs first."

By "tickets" in this language, they are referring to the vouchers that guarantee the tickets. "whichever" just occurred sooner than expected for us, and probably for Disney as well.

They are only partially closing the program, and the flexible opportunities are the first ones affected.

 

[photographymom517]

I know its been said if you have a confirmed date you are safe but now I am worried. We are not set to deliver until March 19th. I can't take the stuff to the organization before then. Please talk me down, we will be ok right?

I understand how you feel. I am worried as well. I emailed the lady from the organization where we are volunteering. We signed-up last week, but aren't shipping the blankets (we are doing the Binky Patrol blankets) until around March 24th. We might get them done early, so I emailed her regarding this & she told me that I might want to go into the Hands-On Network website & change my date to the earlier date. When I did this, I didn't get a confirmation email...it still says the 24th even though I changed our date to March 16th.

She told me in her email that although I am confirmed with Hands-On with the date, she cannot turn anything into Disney until AFTER she receives the blankets...so she said to do it ASAP. Now I'm worried because we are rushing & trying to complete them ASAP & we might not even be qualified for a voucher. I'm very confused.

I'm sorry I can't give you any hope...but I have gotten a lot of varying responses!!! Some say if you are registered through Hands-On & have your date, as long as you fulfill your obligation BY that date, you are ok. But then the lady in charge of the organization told me she can't contact Disney until AFTER the date...so I'm very confused & worried as well! Let me know if you find out anything & I will let you know if I find out anything more tomorrow.

 

[It'sWDW4me]

I understand how you feel. I am worried as well. I emailed the lady from the organization where we are volunteering. We signed-up last week, but aren't shipping the blankets (we are doing the Binky Patrol blankets) until around March 24th. We might get them done early, so I emailed her regarding this & she told me that I might want to go into the Hands-On Network website & change my date to the earlier date. When I did this, I didn't get a confirmation email...it still says the 24th even though I changed our date to March 16th.

She told me in her email that although I am confirmed with Hands-On with the date, she cannot turn anything into Disney until AFTER she receives the blankets...so she said to do it ASAP. Now I'm worried because we are rushing & trying to complete them ASAP & we might not even be qualified for a voucher. I'm very confused.

I'm sorry I can't give you any hope...but I have gotten a lot of varying responses!!! Some say if you are registered through Hands-On & have your date, as long as you fulfill your obligation BY that date, you are ok. But then the lady in charge of the organization told me she can't contact Disney until AFTER the date...so I'm very confused & worried as well! Let me know if you find out anything & I will let you know if I find out anything more tomorrow.

It really sounds like you'll be ok. You have a specified delivery date of 3/24. It's the same thing as if you would be scheduled to physically go somewhere to do something (i.e. me & son will help with egg hunt on 3/27). As long as you get your blankets delivered no later than the 24th the lady can confirm your activity and you'll get your voucher - whether she confirms on the 25th or the 31st it doesn't matter at this point just as long as you get them delivered by the 24th. If you can't deliver them by the 24th, she'll need to mark you down as a "no-show" and you'll be kicked out of the opportunity and would then need to sign up for something else (if something else is still available.)

 

[LadySiren]

Wow, I am SO glad I found this thread! We signed up for a specific-date opportunity with Meals on Wheels but I only finished the sign-up via the link they send you in the initial email this morning.

I got the automated "Thanks for Signing up to Volunteer!" email and when I go into our account on the HON website, it shows us registered but pending confirmation of our volunteer status. I did email our coordinator to let her know we just finished the sign-up today. We should be okay, right? RIGHT?!!

We're going to both volunteer and WDW in any case but having the GAD vouchers would be helpful. Any insight welcomed!

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

Wow, we barely made it in based on the email. My cousin and I signed up on thursday got our emails friday and finished registering to help with the Binky Patrol. I reffered a co-worker to the site Friday and she signed up for Binky Patrol got the email from the organization but can't get back on Disney's site today to complete registration b/c the opportunity is gone. She just emailed Binky Patrol and got back a reply that said the opportunity is gone.

 

[get_us_to_WDW]

Wow, we barely made it in based on the email. My cousin and I signed up on thursday got our emails friday and finished registering to help with the Binky Patrol. I reffered a co-worker to the site Friday and she signed up for Binky Patrol got the email from the organization but can't get back on Disney's site today to complete registration b/c the opportunity is gone. She just emailed Binky Patrol and got back a reply that said the opportunity is gone.

Yes, all the opportunities for Binky Patrol in PA are gone as well.

 

[ccgirl]

Have her perform a search and see if there are any others still open. Good luck!