Sweetwater County McDonald’s are hosting Free Fry Friday on March 30 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Intermountain Area.
This celebration includes a free medium fry with any purchase of $1 or more.
SWEETWATER COUNTY — Eating McDonald’s french fries can actually help support local children and their families who travel to Salt Lake City for medical treatment.
The three McDonald’s restaurants in Sweetwater County are part of a regional coalition to support the Ronald McDonald House through fry sales, known as Fries for Families. For every pound of french fries shipped to the McDonald locations, the restaurants donate a penny toward helping the Ronald McDonald House.
This group of restaurants donated $134,593 in 2017 and $909,149,85 since the penny a pound donation was introduced in 2010.
The Ronald McDonald House provides a temporary home-away-from-home for children who need to travel to Salt Lake City for medical treatment. The program also provides a family rooms at the hospital, so that parents have a place to be while their child is hospitalized.
In just January and February 2018, the Ronald McDonald House helped 135 families from Wyoming, with a majority of them from from Sweetwater County.
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About Fries for Families
The Fries for Families Fundraiser began in 2010 with McDonald’s Owner Operators pledging to donate one-penny per pound of fries purchased by their restaurants.
The fundraiser to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Intermountain Area (RMHC) has become an annual campaign, raising over $100,000 annually in support of pediatric patient families. (See spreadsheet of total funds raised).
During the first five years (2010-2014) the Fries for Families fundraiser provided a half-million-dollar gift toward the RMHC Expansion & Renovation project at the Salt Lake-based House, 935 E. South Temple.
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Support for Sick Children and their families
With the expansion, RMHC was able to grow the number of families positively impacted each year by over 400% -more than doubling the Ronald McDonald House room capacity from 33 to 72 rooms and opening a new Ronald McDonald Family Room inside Primary Children’s Hospital.
Once the expansion and renovation were complete, the Fries for Families Fundraiser (2015-2017) was allocated to fund core annual operating support toward the Ronald McDonald Family Room inside Primary Children’s Hospital allowing RMHC to expand their reach and impact.
The Ronald McDonald Family Room expands service to include Salt Lake and Summit County families who do not stay at the Ronald McDonald House, as well as families from rural areas and surrounding states with children receiving care at the hospital.
