McHappy Day supports Noelle's Gift

Noelle's Gift is getting a fundraising boost. The children's charity is this year's local beneficiary for McHappy Day. All day Wednesday, 10 per cent of all menu items sold, from McCafé coffees to cheeseburgers and Big Macs, will support Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) and other local charities across the country. Noelle's Gift spokesperson Nicole Paquette said they are thrilled to be a part of the fundraising effort. "We are super excited and honoured to be the charity of choice this year," said Paquette. "We are being utilized more than ever unfortunately with inflation, price of groceries, gas, everything and we are very grateful for this. It's going to go to help any student in the community have the essential resources to grow up great. So whether it's food, glasses, clothes, school supplies, anything and everything that they need to grow up great." Orders placed online or McDelivery as well as through SkipTheDishes and Uber Eats also count. McDonald's Supervisor Darlene Black said 75 per cent of the local McHappy Day proceeds will go to Noelle's Gift, the remainder will benefit the RMHC in London. "Actually we're number three in its usage amongst Canada, so Sarnia really uses that house," said Black. "They started out with 12 bedrooms and after three expansions, they are up to 40 bedrooms and the average stay is 15 to 16 days." Black said you can grab some McDonald's gear as well on McHappy Day, all while supporting a good cause. "We have tote bags, we have pins, we have paper hearts to post on our walls, we have socks, we have a new line this year-very limited, and of course we have some vintage socks as well." Last year, just over $21,700 was raised during McHappy Day for Access Open Minds and over $8,250 was raised for Ronald McDonald House London. In 2022, McDonald's Canada set a goal to donate over $70 million to RMHC by 2026, to help nearly double the number of bedrooms for families across the country over the next ten years. Over 280 Sarnia-Lambton families have used a program run by RMHC-SWO over the last five years, spending a total of 4,390 nights at RMHC while their children received necessary care.