BBC Children in Need and McDonald’s Makin’ it
Building a safer high street and improving chances for young people – BBC Children in Need and McDonald’s Makin’ it
During National Youth Work Week, McDonald’s and BBC Children in Need have launched a new report evaluating Makin’ it, their nationwide initiative to build safer high streets and support young people to reach their full potential.
Findings show that where Makin’ it partnerships existed between McDonald’s restaurants and local projects, there were a number of significant impacts and positive outcomes for young people, staff in restaurants and local communities.
Impacts for young people
- Access to a safe space, with a trusted adult meant they have somewhere to go, someone to talk to, something to do
- Gain employment, work skills and signposting to other relevant services
- Build confidence and social connection
Young personI feel safer coming here knowing there are activities for us and people to speak to.
Young personIt’s nice to have a space where we can meet people and feel part of something.
Impacts for youth organisations
- Reaching some of the hardest to reach young people in places where they spend their time
- Finding new spaces to deliver youth work
- Better awareness and profile in the local community
...there is better awareness of our work and mission. This has been made possible thanks to McDonald's crew members taking time to learn about the charity and share the work we do.
Impacts for McDonald’s restaurants
- The evaluation captured insights from several of the partnerships and found a reduction in anti-social behaviour reports in restaurants including:
- Page Moss, Liverpool – reporting a 61% decrease
- Kirkby, Liverpool – seeing a 75% decrease during school commute
- Markeaton Park, Derby – reporting a 38% decrease
- Better links and increased trust in the community
- Better customer experience, encouraging more families to visit, with several of the partnerships reporting an improvement in customer satisfaction including:
- Knowsley, Liverpool – saw an average 10% increase
- Dagenham, London – saw a 13% increase
- Markeaton Park, Derby – saw an 11% increase
The kids were so loud, between 2-10pm we used to call the police a lot. We’re now 50-65% down on calls.
Our staff have learned a lot from it: don’t judge, get to know the young people first. It’s given the staff the opportunity to grow.
