McDonald’s Ayuyu very passionate in donating to nonprofit

McDonald’s Guam and Saipan owner Jose “Joe” Ayuyu, right, poses with sponsors and members of the Ronald McDonald House of Charities Golf Tournament organizing committee during a sponsors appreciation cocktail last Tuesday at their Papago home last Tuesday. (MARK RABAGO)

McDonald’s Guam and Saipan owner Jose “Joe” Ayuyu and his wife, Marcia, hosted a sponsors appreciation cocktail last Tuesday at their stupendous Papago home last Tuesday.

One by one, the Ayuyus personally thanked the sponsors who donated money and resources for the fast-food franchise’s inaugural Ronald McDonald House of Charities Golf Tournament set for tomorrow at the Laolao Bay Golf & Resort. They also bestowed plaques of appreciation to the sponsors for their thoughtful donations in this season of giving.

Ayuyu said when he first toured the McDonald’s headquarters in the U.S., one of the things that really stuck in his mind was a visit to the Ronald McDonald House of Charities.

“The House caters to low-income families, specifically to housing children that have very specific and unique health conditions like cleft lip and other deformities. A lot of families out there that are very financially challenged and they’d give up everything to make their children better. I thought it was something that’s a worthwhile cause and so throughout the years we’ve been donating silently sometimes from our own pockets to the Ronald McDonald House. I’m very, very passionate about this thing because I also came from a very poor family,” he said.

Ayuyu said the inaugural Ronald McDonald House of Charities Golf Tournament is McDonald’s Guam and Saipan stepping up in its commitment to the Ronald McDonald House Charities.

“By investing a little bit of money to this children who have cleft lip who are embarrassed their whole lives, Ronald McDonald House gives these kids an opportunity to live a meaningful life. I’m really thankful to all of you for donating what your companies can donate for this cause,” he said.

Closer to home, the McDonald’s president and CEO said Ronald McDonald House Charities has benefitted a lot of children from this part of the world for years.

“The thing that also touched my heart about this program is that it benefits not only kids from Saipan but also kids in Guam and especially in Micronesia. As you know the medical facilities in Micronesia are not up to par. Their medical facilities are short-staffed and not much doctors. Even Guam which is pretty developed lacks doctors with specialties that can deal with these unique medical issues of children,” he said, adding that one thing going for the Ronald McDonald House in Hawaii is that it’s connected to a team of doctors at the Hawaii Children’s Hospital.

Plans are also afoot to install coin cannisters for the Ronald McDonald House Charities at all McDonald’s locations on Saipan and Guam, according to Ayuyu.

Aside from thanking his wife, he also extended his gratitude to tournament director Vicente “Ben” Babauta and organizing committee members Das Krishnan and James Nelson for their hard work in putting tomorrow’s golf event together.

Established in 1987, the Ronald McDonald House Charities has helped over 38,000 families from the CNMI, Guam, Federated States of Micro-nesia, Republic of Marshall Islands, Palau, and Hawaii. It’s not directly affiliated with McDonald’s Corp. or any of its restaurants and relies heavily on the support of the community to continue delivering services for those in need.