McDonald’s Canada makes donation to the Red Cross’ British Columbia Floods and Extreme Weather Appeal and all of province’s restaurant coin boxes to support relief efforts

November 22 – As historic rainfall in British Columbia led to a state of emergency across the province, McDonald’s franchisees in B.C. stepped in to serve their communities.

Franchisees Brandy Gozda-Sekhon (Merritt), Stephen Yeung (Hope), Jeff Vertes (Chilliwack) and John Uszkalo (Abbotsford) and their teams have worked around the clock to help ensure the safety and security of their crew and their restaurants.  In many cases, the restaurants have become community hubs for first responders.

For instance, Merritt franchisee Brandy Gozda-Sekhon re-opened as soon as it was safe and is serving meals to first responders working in the evacuated town.

In Hope, franchisee Stephen Yeung served free meals to hungry community members displaced by the flooding. Stephen’s team has been keeping the community updated on Facebook, sharing how they can access food if needed.

“The quick and passionate response of our franchisees is no surprise to me. Our purpose is to feed and foster communities and that’s exactly what our B.C. franchisees are doing through this difficult time,” said Rod Halladay, Regional Vice President, Western Canada and McOpCo. “I thank our franchisees and their crews for taking care of each other and our guests.”

As a member of the Canadian Red Cross’ Disaster Response Alliance, McDonald’s Canada helps support Red Cross emergency preparedness and response when it is needed most. The company made a $75,000 donation to the Red Cross’ British Columbia Floods and Extreme Weather Appeal.   In addition, all B.C. franchisees are temporarily reallocating funds from their coin boxes in drive-thru and at front counters to the Canadian Red Cross. Guests are invited to drop donations there when they visit a restaurant.