McHappy Day 2025 fundraiser breaks records in Fort St. John and Dawson Creek

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The McHappy Day fundraiser has raised nearly $41,000 for charities in the Fort St. John and Dawson Creek communities.

The 31st annual McHappy Day fundraiser, held on May 8th, 2025, raised $40,758 from its McDonald’s franchises in Fort St. John and Dawson Creek, with half the proceeds going to their Child Development Centres (CDC).

McHappy Day is McDonald’s single largest fundraising day of the year, with a portion of all proceeds from menu items, McHappy Day socks sales or donations going to Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) to help families with seriously ill children.

Last year, the fundraiser brought in $33,700 – $20,500 in Fort St. John and $13,200 in Dawson Creek.

This year, a total of $24,870 was raised from McDonald’s locations in Fort St. John, with half of the proceeds going to the Ronald McDonald House BC and Yukon, a non-profit based in Vancouver, and the other half going to the Fort St. John CDC.

Meanwhile, Dawson Creek also broke records, raising $15,888 for the same Ronald McDonald House and South Peace CDC. 

Joanne Kitney, spokesperson for McDonald’s, credits the success to the community’s strong and continued support. 

“It’s just community involvement, everyone came out and supported us and we had many companies that ordered large meals,” said Kitney.

Kitney said many northern families can benefit from the funds going to the RMHC house. 

“There’s a good tie-in because a lot of the local families that use the CDC up here also use the Ronald McDonald House,” said Kitney.

She said up to 25 per cent of the families who use the Vancouver charity live in the north. 

The McHappy Day fundraiser first started in 1977 and has raised $11.3 million and helped up to 2,000 families yearly.

“The amount of families that come in who’ve actually accessed the house is really heartwarming,” said Kitney.

Donations for the fundraiser can still be submitted here.