MATTOON, Ill (December 20, 2017) — McDonald’s® owner/operators from across the country participated in the annual “Buy One, Give One. McCafé® Coffee for Our Military” program to donate more than 1.5 million cups of McCafé Coffee to active and veteran military members.
Two hundred and thirty-three McDonald’s restaurants located throughout Central Illinois, Kentucky, Southern Indiana, and the Eastern Shore of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia partnered together on the program, which was developed to give back to the communities in which their restaurants operate.
During the Buy One, Give One. McCafé Coffee for Our Military program, which ran from Oct. 30 through Nov. 12, 2017, local owner/operators matched every cup of freshly brewed McCafé Coffee sold at local McDonald’s restaurants, and will donate that amount to active and veteran military members.
In partnership with Operation Gratitude, these active and veteran military members will receive the McCafé Coffee – made with 100 percent Arabica beans – in the form of fresh coffee grounds to be brewed at their convenience.
In addition to the McCafé Coffee donation, the owner/operators partnered with local schools throughout each community to incorporate more than 6,000 handwritten letters from area schools to accompany the care packages.
“We are so excited to partner with Operation Gratitude and other McDonald’s owner/operators from across the country to help spread a little extra holiday cheer this season,” local McDonald’s Owner/Operator and President of the Central Illinois and Peoria/Bloomington Co-op, Gary Birschbach, said. “Providing this donation to our military is just a small token of our appreciation for everything that they do for us.”
Since the start of the partnership in 2014, McCafé Coffee has been distributed in hundreds of thousands of Operation Gratitude care packages. Local McDonald’s owner/operators were thrilled to join Operation Gratitude in celebrating the shipment of their 2 Millionth Care Package on December 9. Active and veteran military members will receive McCafé Coffee in care packages throughout the holiday season and 2018, along with handwritten letters and other much-needed items.
In 2016, McDonald’s owner/operators in the Peoria/Bloomington and Central Illinois area participated in the Buy One, Give One. McCafé Coffee for Our Military program, and donated more than 629,760 cups of McCafé Coffee and hundreds of handwritten letters from McDonald’s customers and area schools to be included in the Operation Gratitude Care Packages.