Upper Gornal McDonald's raises over £10,000 for Ronald McDonald House Charities UK

Ronald McDonald House Charities UK is an independent charity that provides free "home away from home" accommodation and support to families of sick children in hospital, enabling them to stay close to their child and maintain a sense of normality during difficult times. The room in the Birmingham House has been sponsored on behalf of the community of Upper Gornal who have been pivotal in the fundraising.

The opening also falls on the day of Anne-Marie’s two-year anniversary since taking the ownership of the Upper Gornal restaurant and she becomes the third franchisee in the UK to have raised £10,000 for Ronald McDonald House Charities UK through fundraising efforts at a single restaurant location.

Local McDonald’s Franchisee, Anne-Marie Clarke, who owns and operates the Upper Gornal restaurant and is also a Board Member at the Birmingham House said: “I’m so grateful to the community in Upper Gornal, who have made this possible for us, they have been unbelievably generous and everyone at the restaurant sends their thanks. We have dedicated the room to everyone in Upper Gornal, as this wouldn’t have been possible without the community. The work that Ronald McDonald House Charities UK does is incredible and it’s an honour to play a small part in ensuring another family is close to their child whilst they go through some of their hardest times.”

Over the last two years, the restaurant team and local community have come together to raise the money through a wide range of fundraising activities – from scaling mountains to in-restaurant raffles. This has included 18 members of Anne-Marie’s team taking on the challenge of climbing Snowdon, and another 15 crew members taking a trip to Wales to successfully climb Y Garn which together raised over £4,000.

Their most recent endeavour saw six people, Anne-Marie included, complete The Three Peaks Challenge, raising over £1,000. Further to this, Anne-Marie and two other members of her team took on a huge personal achievement by facing their collective fear of heights and skydiving to raise an incredible £2,000 for the Charity.

Back at the Upper Gornal restaurant, the team have held a number of popular family fun days, and have also hosted various raffles, including Christmas and Easter events which have brought the community together and raise over £2,000.

McDonald’s is a founding and forever partner of the Charity, which has provided vital support to thousands of families across the UK at each of its 14 locations since 1989. The Houses, located next to specialist NHS children’s hospitals, allow families to be by their child's bedside in a matter of moments, whilst maintaining a degree of normality during very difficult times. As the Charity’s biggest supporter, McDonald’s has helped more than 90,000 families through its ongoing fundraising initiatives.