The McDonald’s restaurant on South Broadway was a swarm of activity on Oct. 18 as parents, children, and other community members stood in line to buy hamburgers and Happy Meals in support of Ontiveros Elementary School.
Principal Margaret Ontiveros greeted people dressed in teal and white, the school’s colors, as other staff members helped take orders, cook, and serve food.
“I’m so appreciative that McDonald’s offers schools the opportunity to do these fundraisers,” she told the Sun later in an interview.
She said the employees raised $771 for the Ontiveros Parent-Teacher Association. The money will go toward field trips and other enrichment activities.
Employees from several schools in the Santa Maria-Bonita School District worked for an evening at local McDonald’s restaurants the week of Oct. 15 as part of McTeacher’s Night, a fundraiser sponsored by the fast food chain. The restaurants, which are locally owned by Ted and Cheryl Maddux, donated 20 percent of the sales that occurred between the hours of 5 and 8 p.m. to the individual school.
Rudy Lopez, manager of the South Broadway location, said the Maddux family has sponsored the fundraiser for several years.
“It’s great to help the schools,” Lopez said after helping Ontiveros teachers Wendy Deale and Liz Loew pass out meals.
All of the school staff members got a short training session before taking over for the regular McDonald’s employees, who were on-hand to help keep up in the fast-paced kitchen.
This article appears in Oct 25 – Nov 1, 2012.