Disney Africa And Sporting Chance Foundation Celebrate 10 Years Of Disney Healthy Happy Play
Annual program, for grade 3 learners and their educators, provides fun and creative tools for leading a healthy and active lifestyle, using Disney characters and stories as inspiration
Program has reached over 200 000 learners since 2016
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Launch Video: Click Here
23 October 2025, Johannesburg – The Walt Disney Company Africa, together with long-time sports development partner Sporting Chance Foundation, celebrates a milestone in the 10 years of the Disney Healthy Happy Play program– reaching over 200 000 learners across South Africa.
Launched in 2016, Disney Healthy Happy Play was developed and is presented in partnership with the Sporting Chance Foundation. The annual program empowers under-resourced schools to embed physical education into their curriculums by providing fun and creative tools for educators and students using Disney characters and stories as inspiration for leading a healthy and active lifestyle.
Since its inception, the program has reached 230 000 learners with teaching sessions across multiple provinces and up to 50 schools each year.
“At Disney supporting the happiness and wellbeing of children is part of our social purpose, and we believe our brands, stories and characters are uniquely suited to partner with parents and caregivers to inspire families to make healthier choices and to make healthy living simple and fun,” comments Christine Service, General Manager DTC and Media Networks & General Manager, Sub-Saharan Africa. “For an incredible 10 years, our storytelling has been utilised to bring importantphysical and nutritional education to learners, all inspired by Sporting Chance’s mission to inspire South African children to develop a lifelong passion for exercise and sport.”
Ongoing research in South Africa highlights the urgent need for structured physical activity in schools. The recent Healthy Active Kids Report Card provides a critical backdrop for the Disney Healthy Happy Play programme, noting that the country faces a growing inactivity epidemic. The program directly addresses this challenge by combining health education, active play installations, and long-term sustainability support for schools across the country.
Disney Healthy Happy Play is aimed at grade 3 learners and their educators and consists of 3 components:
An Edu Module, brought to life with iconic characters focusing on the importance of physical activity, how to participate in sport and play, and their subsequent positive effects. Included in the module is a focus on balanced eating and nutrition.
Installation of the Disney Healthy Happy Play active play area which is a painted one hundred square-metre activity circuit that provides a valuable piece of indestructible equipment, empowering learner and educators for Physical Education sessions and assessments.
Music-filled, fun morning assemblies at the various schools, in which the importance of physical activity is communicated in a lively and entertaining format to teachers and learners.
Sporting Chance’s prime objective is to provide opportunities for sporting achievement for as many children as possible – irrespective of race, gender or social class – by offering professional coaching within all community sectors.
“ The Disney Happy Healthy Play programme supports under-resourced schools to advance their Physical Education practices by providing them with training and equipment and, most importantly, by monitoring their progress and providing mentorship,” says Natalie Pollock, General Manager of Sporting Chance Foundation. “We are proud to have reached this milestone in our collaboration with Disney Africa, whose exciting and imaginative content brings the program, its engagement and interactivity to life.”
To date, the Disney Healthy Happy Play programme has achieved remarkable milestones:
50 under-resourced schools engaged across 5 provinces per year
190 500 learners reached
Hundreds of educators empowered and upskilled
Hundreds of Disney Healthy Happy Play activations in Grade 3 classrooms
50 active play areas installed or refurbished, benefiting over 40,000 learners annually
Full-time employment for 3 coaches and contractual employment for up to 20 coaches
As the 10 th annual iteration continues, Disney Healthy Happy Play’s mission remains clear: to inspire children and families, create active learning environments, and encourage lifelong healthy habits through sport and play.
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