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McCain Foods donates £35k to Ronald McDonald House Charities UK
The independent charity, which offers accommodation and support for the families of children in hospital, is also celebrating its 35th birthday.
Ronald McDonald House operates 14 houses across England, Wales, and Scotland, serving more than 500 families each night. The houses keep families together, close to their children in hospital, while providing a place to sleep, cook and retain some sense of normal life.
As well as the financial donation, McCain is extending its support to the charity by gifting Ninja air fryers to all 14 houses, as well as regular donations of frozen potato products and recipe cards.
Last year, the Ronald McDonald House conducted a cost-of-living crisis survey of families that had recently stayed at one of its houses, collecting data from 246 parents and carers.
The results showed that almost a quarter of families have skipped meals to help make ends meet, while more than 40% have asked family or friends to borrow money. Finally, 91% of respondents agreed that staying in a Ronald McDonald House helped to ease the financial burden of having a child in hospital during the cost-of-living crisis.
“We’re so grateful to McCain for giving so generously,” said Janet Pennington, senior corporate partnerships manager at Ronald McDonald House.
“We have a longstanding partnership with the company, which has seen their staff volunteer in our houses, take on fundraising challenges, and support our gala dinners and golf days.
“The air fryers will help us to reduce our electricity bills, which have skyrocketed during the energy crisis. But most importantly, the appliances, along with the gifted frozen food, are enabling families to have a bit of normality during such difficult times.”
McCain has supplied hash browns and fries to McDonald's UK, the charity’s founding and forever partner, for more than 40 years.
The firm’s GB regional president Jillian Moffatt added: “Ronald McDonald House Charities UK is an amazing organisation, and we are honoured to make this donation to help fund their vital work providing ‘home from home’ accommodation and support to families with a child in hospital.
“We work closely with the charity as part of our ongoing community work and have seen first-hand just how much they support struggling families who are going through incredibly difficult times.”
In other news, the European Commission has fined Mondelēz International €337.5m for hindering the cross-border trade.
