McDonald's support ARCHIE appeal

Archie, the appeal mascot, with Sheila McDonald (left) and Joanna Innes from McDonald's, Elgin.

ELGIN restaurant McDonald's is getting behind the Moray Friends of ARCHIE appeal.

Staff will be having some fun with customers in support of the Dr Gray's Children's Ward project.

Over the coming weeks, McDonald's will be hosting a number of fund-raising activities in the restaurant. They will include a raffle to win a Nintendo DS, guess the number of sweeties in a jar and a teddy bears birthday competition.

Blagoev Angel, McDonald's Elgin manager, said: "We are very much a family and community orientated restaurant and we want to give something back.

"We have our own charity which is all about helping children and this Dr Gray's appeal was a great one for us to support."

Joanna Innes, first assistant manager, added: "We want to do as much as we can for the local community. The restaurant recently completed similar fund-raising efforts for Quarriers carers project and Logan's Fund, a Moray charity which supports sick children, and raised in excess of £1,000.

The Dr Gray's Children's Ward project, which will provide added extras for the ward to make their hospital stay more comfortable and less stressful for children and their families, ties in nicely with the Ronald McDonald House Charities, an independent charity which provides free 'home away from home' accommodation for families with children in hospital and hospices across the UK.

The aim of that charity is providing help to keep family units together during stressful periods.

Established in 1989, it has provided 14 houses in hospitals across the UK and 29 sets of family rooms in hospitals, providing up to 400 bedrooms each night, where there is no room in the grounds to build houses.

In Scotland, the charity has a Ronald McDonald House at Yorkhill Hospital in Glasgow, as well as family rooms at Ninewells in Dundee and Raigmore, Inverness.

Where possible, every bedroom has a telephone directly linked to the hospital ward. Knowing they can have direct contact with the ward should an emergency arise at any time of the day or night, gives families peace of mind and helps them to relax.

Over the course of a year, one in every 15 children will be admitted to hospital. For some families, this might mean one or two nights. For other families who have travelled a long distance for their child's treatment or who find themselves facing weeks or even months of in-patient care ahead, the lack of sleep can have a real and profound impact on their ability to cope with their child's need for support.

Customer care assistant at McDonald's Elgin, Sheila McDonald, will be the face of the local fund-raising effort.

Sheila said: "People have already been very generous because it is such a great cause."

* Anyone who would like to support the appeal can contact chairman Chris Saunderson at c.saunderson@northern-scot.co.uk