Disney Cast Member Raises Over $20K for Fellow CM Who Lost His Wife to Cancer

A Walt Disney World Resort Cast Member started a fundraiser for his friend and fellow CM who lost his wife to cancer. Since it was started, it has raised over $20,000, proving that Disney magic and community togetherness is real, even during hard times.

Disney World Cast Members Michael Kutas and Jim Maschio have been friends for years. Kutas has worked at Walt Disney World Resort for half a decade, and he is even part of the reason Maschio started working for Disney, too.

Recently, Maschio lost his wife, Brittany, to cancer. During this difficult time when Disney employees are furloughed and the theme parks are closed until further notice, Kutas started a fundraising campaign to support his friend Jim and Jim and Brittany’s four children.

The GoFundMe page reads:

Friends, Family, Neighbors, Anyone and Everyone!

Jim, his wife Brittany, the kids, and their family needs the #PowerOfCommunity right now!

They need our help during this rough time. They need every bit of support you can give.

During this rough time that Disney is closed, Jim is a Disney Cast Member and also one of my best friends along with his wife. He is currently furloughed with the rest of us Cast Members.

The difference is that he has lost his wife to cancer that quickly spread into her lungs. She was also the mother to 4 beautiful kids, and both him and his wife were my best friends growing up.

Please donate and share and help them. They need our help more than ever during this difficult time.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/SupportTheMaschios

Please pray for them. Pray harder than you ever have before. They need every ounce of your thoughts. Pray to whoever you pray to. If you don’t pray, send all of the good vibes, whatever you got. Just send it, please.

At the time of this article’s publication, Kutas’s fundraiser for the Maschio family has raised well over $20,000. And that number is still climbing.

“I started this because we come from a tight, small community of Wildwood, NJ, where the Power of Community is strong. Everyone comes together to help anyone and everyone,” Kutas shared with Inside the Magic when asked why he started the fundraiser for the Maschio family. “One of my [and the community’s] biggest inspirations to always help is John Lynch, who runs a nonprofit organization, Lunch with Lynch Foundation. I started this GoFundMe as just as a helpful way to be there for the family during this rough time, and it has grown bigger than I ever imagined.”

Since his wife’s passing, Jim Maschio has shared a heartfelt post to Facebook, which included a beautiful letter and photos of himself, his wife, and their four children. You can read the full post below:

Donate to help furloughed Disney World Cast Member Jim Maschio and his family via the GoFundMe here.

Our hearts are with every Disney Cast Member during this time of park closures and furloughs, and we hope the Disney World CM Jim Maschio and his children know that Disney fans everywhere are keeping them in their thoughts. We are sending them faith, trust, and pixie dust during this time.