Local McDonald’s restaurants were even busier than usual Friday, as residents came out in droves to show their support for the franchise’s annual "McHappy Day" campaign, which is hoping to put $5,000 in the hands of a worthy local charity.
Spotlighted this year is the Therapy Association and Disability Advocates (TADA), formerly the USVI Therapy Association, which is made up of local physical, occupational and speech therapists working at the hospital or in various agencies and private practices on St. Thomas. While the therapists work with outpatients recovering from strokes or replacement surgeries, their main focus is on individuals with disabilities, including children with cerebral palsy and autism.
TADA will receive all proceeds collected Friday from the sale of McDonald’s Big Macs, along with paper hands purchased at the restaurants in support of TADA’s cause. The goal, according to McDonald’s officials, was to plaster the walls of each local restaurant with paper hands, which were on sale for $1.
By noon Friday, local corporations had poured in more than $1,000 including: V.I. Lottery and Banco Popular, which bought 300 paper hands each; Scotia Bank, which bought 200; and "McHappy Day" promoters MLB Creative, which came in with 150.
"Everything is going really well — I think we’re going to meet our goal," said Sandra Hardy, marketing manager for McDonald’s USVI. Hardy said each restaurant had established hourly benchmarks for paper hand and Big Mac sales, and had, during the first hour of lunch, already surpassed them.
"Our goal today is 240 Big Macs, which works out to about 18 per hour," she said. "We’ve been serving lunch for less than an hour now, and we’ve already sold 19, so we’re well on our way."
