Photo Provided Eight McDonald’s restaurants in the Ohio Valley came together and donated $94,861.38 to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Pittsburgh and Morgantown on Thursday. Pictured from left are Gwen Bruno-Menzer, director of Operations; Eleanor Reigel, Ronald McDonald House Charities CEO of Morgantown and Pittsburgh; Sierra Wells, general manager Bellaire McDonald’s; and Amanda Stoltz-Moore, owner and operator of eight local McDonald’s.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Eight McDonald’s restaurants in the Ohio Valley came together and donated $94,861.38 to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Pittsburgh and Morgantown on Thursday.

Gwen Bruno-Menzer, director of Operations at McDonald’s West Division, explained that Thursday’s donation was a grand total of all donations raised for 2023.

“That’s a really big number for eight restaurants,” she said.

Bruno-Menzer said that the charity means a lot to her and her employees.

“We have an employee who stayed at the Ronald House when their grandchild was born … and at that point in time, our employees realized how important that was. So really, they put forth all the efforts they can to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House,” she said.

Bruno-Menzer said the employees are dedicated to raising money for the cause.

“They’ve had challenges in the restaurant who can bring up the most donations,” she said.

Bruno-Menzer said that most of the donations come from customers. She said customers can choose to round up their total to the nearest dollar and donate the change to Ronald McDonald House Charities.

According to a news release from McDonald’s, Ronald McDonald House Charities help give “families who travel to get medical care for their children a place to call home. When families stay at RMHC, they are steps away from their sick child, and enjoy warm meals, daily essentials and a safe environment.”

The release also states that all McDonald’s restaurants are locally owned and operated. Each restaurant employs 50-100 local residents.

For more information about local McDonald’s locations, visit the McDonald’s of Three Rivers Facebook page. More information about RMHC can be found at rmhc.org.

Donations can also be made online at rmhc.org.