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Community
Giving Back.Our founder, Ray Kroc, built McDonald’s on a foundation of ethical business conduct and involvement in our local communities. McDonald’s owner/operators and company-operated restaurants fulfill these vital commitments every day in many ways.
Help for Children in Dire Need
Owner/operator Dawn Degenhardt founded and still serves as a guiding force in the Maine Adoption Placement Service. MAPS seeks to find permanent homes for homeless, orphaned, and abandoned children around the world and provides other types of humanitarian aid in many countries.

Support for Breast Cancer Services
In May, McDonald’s restaurants throughout the West traditionally join in a Mother’s Day weekend fundraiser to support the fight against breast cancer. Developed and sponsored by the West Division’s Women’s Operators Network, this program has raised approximately $2.4 million in the last five years. McDonald’s Central and East Division restaurants also sponsor Mother's Day fundraisers for the breast cancer cause.
During May 2006, participating McDonald’s restaurants across the U.S. will also be sharing breast health and breast cancer awareness information. This initiative represents a collaboration with two major organizations for breast cancer education, support, research, and treatment—Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization and City of Hope Cancer Center.
World Children's Day
Since 2002, McDonald's restaurants around the world have hosted an annual simultaneous fundraiser for children in their communities—World Children's Day. The event benefits local Ronald McDonald House Charities Chapters and other programs for children. Our U.S. restaurants have actively participated, raising a total of more than $23.4 million. The funds mean additional support for RMHC, its 139 local Chapters across the country, and their core programs—Ronald McDonald House, Ronald McDonald Family Room, and Ronald McDonald Care Mobile. They also help support the RMHC scholarship program and grants to other organizations that directly improve the health and well-being of children. This year's funds helped us reach our worldwide goal of raising $50 million for children's causes, in commemoration of our 50th anniversary.

Disaster Relief. When disaster strikes, the McDonald's System is there with support for rescue workers and victims.

Hurricane Katrina
The McDonald’s System swiftly coordinated to help our employees, customers, owner/operators, and others affected by the hurricane. We intend to continue working to support disaster relief and recovery in the region.

Tsunami in South East Asia
Within hours after the devastating tsunami in South East Asia, McDonald's local restaurants reopened to begin providing water, food, and other assistance to relief workers and victims. McDonald's Corporation, our employees, owner/operators, and suppliers developed several programs to help those in need. RMHC and local RMHC Chapters around the world also swiftly responded with relief aid. Together, all these efforts raised approximately $3.3 million within the first month after the disaster. McDonald's and RMHC are exploring ways to provide additional long-term care and medical aid to the children of South Asia.

Florida Hurricanes
In the wake of the 2004 Florida hurricanes, McDonald’s restaurants mobilized their resources to be part of the recovery effort. With help from one another and their distributors, owner/operators kept their restaurants functioning, when possible, to provide complimentary meals and beverages to emergency workers. They also helped their affected employees cope with the damage and provided financial and other aid. A $25,000 donation from RMHC helped the American Red Cross bring supplies and other assistance to those in need.

Support for Space Shuttle Disaster Recovery
When Texas owner/operator Will May heard about the Columbia space shuttle disaster, he moved swiftly to support the recovery effort. Working with his suppliers, he had breakfast and snacks available at the central command post every morning and even airlifted sandwiches to volunteers in the field. Members of the National Guard, Red Cross, and anyone else in uniform received complImentary meals at his restaurants. May was introduced to McDonald’s tradition of giving back to the community more than 35 years ago, when he began his career as a crew member in one of our restaurants.

Growing Communities. McDonald’s in the community means jobs for local residents, opportunities for local suppliers, and revenues for local projects and services. Our restaurants are often key elements in neighborhood stability and revitalization.
Broadway-themed Times Square restaurant
Broadway-themed Times Square restaurant
McDonald’s in New York City
Owner/operator Irwin Kruger created a unique customer experience and helped revitalize a key urban center when he opened his restaurant in New York City’s legendary Times Square. The three-story, 300-seat restaurant occupies a historic landmark building and celebrates the theatrical tradition of the neighborhood.
McDonald’s in Texas
In 2004, McDonald’s 1,041 restaurants in Texas:
  • Provided jobs for nearly 41,500 local residents.
  • Paid approximately $508.3 million in employee wages and benefits.

  • Paid approximately $55.8 million in business taxes, license fees, and payroll taxes.
  • Purchased approximately $508.3 million from Texas suppliers.
  • Generated more than 107,870 additional jobs and approximately $304.3 million in tax revenues through their purchases of local goods and services.
Supporting Education. McDonald’s owner/operators support education in many ways. They develop and co-sponsor local programs, host fundraisers for their local schools, and provide scholarships and other education assistance for their employees. They are key sources of support for the RMHC scholarship programs.
Camp Mickey D’s
Texas owner/operator Sybel Pici reached out to a local school district to create Camp Mickey D’s—an innovative program that helps students learn about workplace values and the connection between school and work. The program is now sponsored by the Greater San Antonio McDonald’s Owner Association and now serves 38 high schools in 14 school districts. Sybel and her husband and fellow owner/operator Bob also pay for tutoring for their restaurant student employees.

Scholarships for Restaurant Crew
Birmingham, Alabama owner/operators Max Cooper and Ed Levins provide college scholarship ”bonuses” for their restaurant crew members. Over the years, thousands of crew members have received a total of approximately $500,000 in financial assistance. Cooper says, “This is our way of helping our employees achieve their dreams.”
Crew member, Mary Elligan, shows Mickey Ds camper, Maria Pena, how to work the register
Crew member Mary Elligan shows Mickey D’s camper Maria Pena how to work the register
McDonald’s Corporation Programs
Working with The Field Museum in Chicago, McDonald’s is making it possible for the public to experience and learn about "Sue," the world's largest, most complete, and best-preserved Tyrannosaurus rex fossil.* We have sponsored two touring life-size replicas, a program for elementary schools, and state-of-the-art fossil preparation laboratories, where the public can view the continuing restoration process. We originally helped the Field Museum purchase Sue, so that she would be available to researchers and the public.

We have created and make available educational resources to enrich elementary and secondary classroom studies. Most were developed in collaboration with prominent organizations like the National Wildlife Federation, the American School Counselor Association, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, and Scholastic magazine.

McDonald’s Corporation sponsors a National Employee Scholarship Program for qualifying restaurant employees. We also fund National Merit Scholarships for children of employees and others within the McDonald’s System.

McDonald’s is a contributing company in the Upromise network, a revolutionary college savings accelerator for customers.

RMHC. Ronald McDonald House Charities creates, finds, and supports programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children in the U.S. and around the world. McDonald’s and McDonald’s owner/operators provide ongoing support for RMHC.

To help parents keep their children healthy, RMHC teams up with the American Academy of Pediatrics on a children’s immunization program—Immunize for Healthy Lives. This program, now in its eleventh year, brings local health care providers, local RMHC Chapters, and McDonald’s restaurants together to educate parents on the importance of timely vaccinations for their children.

For information about RMHC programs, grant procedures, and local contact information, visit the RMHC Web site.

* Sue at The Field Museum is made possible by McDonald's Corporation. Additional support for Sue provided by Walt Disney World Resort, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources/Illinois State Museum, and the Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust.