Stirling McDonald's donates £20,000 to local cause
The funds were raised by the McDonald’s in the Community Foundation – utilising proceeds from the 10p carrier bag charge across Scotland
Stirling McDonald’s restaurant, owned and operated by local franchisee Elliot Jardine, has made a significant contribution to local charity, Start Up Stirling. The organisation received a total of £20,000, plus extra support from the McDonald’s team.
Start Up Stirling has been supporting local people since 1994. The project provides a mobile Foodbank Service throughout the Stirling Council Area and is focused on relieving poverty, suffering and distress for local people in crisis. At each Foodbank there are trained volunteers who spend time talking to people and signposting them to other services to provide tailored help, where appropriate.
The funds from McDonald’s will contribute towards providing home essentials, food packages and access to advice via Start Up’s services. Three of the Stirling restaurant managers, Jess Turnbull, Ross Lamont and Ross Dalzeil, along with team members Lewis Jardine and Russell Parker, visited the warehouse to find out more about the scale of the organisation and number of people in the community it helps.
The donation was made possible by the ‘McDonald’s in the Community Foundation’, set up by 16 Scottish McDonald’s Franchisees, and the 20 McDonald’s-owned restaurants in Scotland. The foundation provides a central hub to help distribute funds, raised by the 10p carrier bag charge, to different charities and organisations across Scotland.
Local McDonald’s franchisee, Elliot Jardine, who owns and operates the Stirling restaurant, said: “We are delighted to support Start Up Stirling with this donation. It was really eye opening to visit the warehouse and see first-hand the scale of the operation and how crucial the services are to local people. We believe that it’s important to give back to the community in any way we can, and this donation reaffirms our commitment to supporting the areas we operate in. Start Up Stirling does an incredible job supporting those in crisis and assisting people with getting back on their feet. We look forward to building on this partnership in the future.”
Julie Christie, Fundraising Manager at Start Up Stirling, said: “We are so grateful to McDonald’s for this wonderful donation. The funding will play a vital role in developing and sustaining the services we provide to the local community. It was lovely to have some of the team come along to see what we do and how we will use this fantastic donation to continue supporting people in the local area. Thank you so much to Elliot and his team for their wonderful contribution!”
In 2023, proceeds from the 10p carrier bag charge were used to donate £2.2 million from Scottish McDonald’s restaurants, which was shared across 87 charities.