Ever taken a spin on Disneyland’s King Arthur Carousel? How about 20? On Nov. 6, DPR’s Melissa King took that many revolutions on the ride as part of the Festival of Children Foundation’s “Carousel of Possible Dreams” charity event, which helps fund the dreams of its member organizations.

Representing the Women for Girls team, which supported Festival of Children Foundation member organization, Girls Inc. of Orange County, King volunteered to be a designated rider and solicited donations from DPR colleagues, family and friends. In just three weeks, she raised $1,200 to support Girls Inc., which is supported by the DPR Foundation and serves girls from underprivileged families, many of whom are hoping to be the first college graduates in their families. The event started at 7 a.m. and wrapped up two hours later, just before the park opened to the public.

King, who serves as the DPR Foundation liaison for the Southern California region and has long volunteered with Girls Inc. of Orange County, joined Women for Girls this past March. The offshoot organization, which is comprised largely of career women committed to helping girls become self-sufficient through interactive volunteer activities, exclusively supports Girls Inc. programs. Additionally, in 2014, King will take on a new leadership position with Girls Inc. of Orange County.

Founded in 1954, Girls Inc. of Orange County positively changes the lives of 4,000 girls ages 4 ½ to 18 each year by providing year-round holistic, compensatory and intentional programming focusing on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). Its mission is to inspire all girls to be strong, smart and bold.

Girls Inc. of Orange County is one of 15 youth organizations nationally awarded a total of $845,000 in grants by the DPR Foundation in December 2012. Over the past five years, the Foundation has awarded more than $2.4 million to 21 different organizations focused on providing community support to grade school and high school-aged children.