After just year one of its five year partnership, BBC Children in Need and McDonalds have announced that £1.2m has been raised to support 11,500 children and young people across the UK who are currently facing a range of disadvantages. The McDonald’s funding will go directly to 60 community projects, which are delivering a variety of youth activities that help prevent young people being held back in life.

The McDonald’s fundraising comes at a time when 3.9m children are living in poverty and over a third of young people feel worried about their family having enough money – challenges compounded first by Covid, and now by the cost of living crisis. The projects funded by McDonald’s are helping young people by providing vital relationships to help them navigate through these challenges and give them hope for the future.

McDonald’s Ambassador Lawrence Okolie recently visited a project receiving funding from BBC Children in Need, to witness first-hand the vital work the charity is doing in local communities. Carney’s Community, who get disadvantaged and excluded young people off the street, welcomed Lawrence through the doors where he got on the pads with those attending the project, sharing his own stories and meeting with project leaders.

The first year of the partnership has also delivered a pilot of an innovative new Community Connections programme, which has been creating valuable connections within local communities by establishing relationships between projects funded by BBC Children in Need and local McDonald’s restaurants.  Over 70 connections have been made to date, helping youth workers across the UK engage with young people outside of the traditional settings. Furthermore, in August, McDonald’s enabled customers to donate their MyMcDonald’s rewards points to the charity, with more than 6.5m points donated to BBC Children in Need in just two months.