24 Mar McDonald’s donates more than 72 thousand euros to children’s healthcare in Latvia
During the year 2022 leading restaurant chain McDonald’s together with its guests has collected 72 600,95 euros for Ronald McDonald House Charities Latvija (RMHC Latvija) to provide free medical consultations to Latvia’s children and adolescents in rural areas.
RMHC Latvija’s children’s Care Mobile program provided totally 5 364 medical consultations to 4 278 children and adolescents in Latvia’s remote regions in 2022. For families living in remote regions children’s healthcare is difficult to access due to small number of regional hospitals and ambulances and absence of qualified healthcare professionals. The Care Mobile is a mobile health care center that travels to remote regions of Latvia all year round and brings free medical consultations to children and adolescents closer to their home.
“Already 13 years we have been supporting Latvia’s children, youth and families in regions by making their access to doctors easier and more convenient. Through fund-raising initiatives that include annual McHappy Day charity campaign and all year long donation options at restaurants, together with our guests we support the Ronald McDonald House Charities Latvija children’s Care Mobile program. Donations gathered in 2022 will help children’s Care Mobile provide more than 5000 doctors’ consultations to children! We are truly thankful for each and every support!” says Vladimir Janevski, McDonald’s Managing Director in the Baltic countries.
“In 2022 we treated 4 278 children and adolescents under the age of 18 and provided 5 364 medical consultations to children closer to their homes. It was all possible thanks to McDonald’s support. Working closely with the Children’s Clinical University Hospital, children’s Care Mobile has traveled to 125 rural cities in Latvia to bring highly-needed medical consultations of ophthalmologists, otolaryngologists, pediatric allergologists, pediatric neurologists, physical and rehabilitation therapists, pediatric endocrinologists, pediatric gastroenterologists, speech therapists, dermatologists un pediatric surgeons/orthopaedists to all regions of Latvia,” states Guna Caune, Executive Director of Ronald McDonald House Charities Latvija, which oversees the children’s Care Mobile programme.
The most in-demand specialist in Latvia’s rural regions is an ophthalmologist — eye doctor —1 1751 ophthalmologist consultations were provided to children and young people in 2022. Also, in high demand are pediatric allergologists and pediatric neurologists , who provided 1 487 and 744 consultations in 2022 respectively. The children’s Care Mobile specialists have noticed an increased demand for children’s speech therapists and un pediatric surgeons/orthopaedists in rural regions in the past few years.
McDonald’s is a longtime partner of Ronald McDonald House Charities Latvija. All year long guests can donate to children’s healthcare at all McDonald’s restaurants in Latvia using the self-service kiosks or special donation boxes. Also, 2 euro cents from each purchased Happy Meal are donated to the children’s and adolescents’ health and wellbeing.