Zhang Yu

JeniZhang13@163.com

MORE than 3,000 children from over 1,000 local families completed the McHappy Run, an activity that aids the construction of Ronald McDonald Houses for sick children, at the Splendid China · Folk Culture Villages theme park in Shenzhen on Saturday.

The fund-raising event was hosted by McDonald’s and China Soong Ching Ling Foundation.

Initiated in 2014, McHappy Run has been a family event designed for children and parents who want to support the Ronald McDonald House project, which provides free accommodations for sick children and their families who are visiting from out of town to seek medical treatment.

The donations will be used for the daily operation of the Hunan Ronald McDonald House, the first Ronald McDonald House on the Chinese mainland, and the construction of more such houses near hospitals.

According to the organizers, two Ronald McDonald rooms beside the intensive care unit of the Shanghai Children’s Medical Center are expected to go into operation this year, and the Shanghai Ronald McDonald House is also under planning.

As of July, Hunan Ronald McDonald House in Changsha City, capital of Hunan Province, had provided free accommodations to more than 500 families since opening in January 2016.