Wild Adventures in Valdosta, Georgia always seems to be doing things to help their local community. This continued last month with Wild Adventures collecting more than $12,000 worth of children’s toys for Toys for Tots. The toys were donated during Wild Adventures Christmas Wild & Bright in Nov. and Dec., when guests who brought a new, unwrapped toy valued at $10 or more could purchase a single-day admission ticket for $19.99. The park has also done food drives and teaching water safety. If we look at just the toy donation, if the average gift was $12 that means 1,000 kids in south Georgia had a better Christmas because of the actions of the park.

Wild Adventures is not alone in supporting local charities. Six Flags has worked with the Red Cross to give a free ticket to a Six Flags park for those who donate blood or platelets at a local blood drive. These partnerships exist not only with national organizations like Toys for Tots or the Red Cross, but also with smaller local ones. For example Six Flags Over Georgia works with MUST Ministries who seeks to meet the basic needs of individuals and families in Cobb County where it is located with various donations throughout the year. Both parks also give out multitudes of tickets to local teachers, first responders and veterans.

It’s great to see Georgia parks doing good in their local community. If everyone does a little we can do a lot and with their large attendance, even a small percentage of guest participation can have a big impact. Perhaps equally important to the financial impact of these programs though is the awareness they create of needs and causes across the community. For example, seeing a donation box or sign can start a conversation with a child with impacts that could reverberate for years. These parks of course are not alone as many theme parks as well as other other businesses give, serve and love on their communities in many ways. However, it is important to call out good work when we see it and these parks should be commended for the efforts they’re making to help their local communities.