July 20, 2011

LOS ANGELES (July 11, 2011) – Twenty one African American high school seniors are among 104 Southern California recipients awarded $2,000 college scholarships from Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) of Southern California. The charity awarded more than $200,000 in scholarship funds to deserving high school seniors who reside in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties. These students were recently honored at an awards luncheon hosted by the McDonald’s Operators’ Association of Southern California.

Justice Achonu from Grover Cleveland High School, Makayla Bailey from Santiago High School, Tyler Barnett from Cerritos High School, Jade Bowman from St. Bonaventure High School, Cavalier Chapman from Redlands East Valley High School, Tsipporah Christopher Cerritos High School, Destiny Durham from Garden Grove High School, Meklit Gebre- Mariam from University Senior High School, Shakhila James from Buena Park High School, Mikayla Lammons from Polytechnic School, Jesslyn Magee from Centennial High School, Ruqayyah Malik from Francicsco Bravo Medical High School, Breanna Martin from Marlborough School for Girls, Gabriella Momah from Diamond Bar High School, Briana Prince from San Jacinto High School, Katherine Rusmiselle from Buena High School, Tule Strong from Bloomington High School, Brandon Thomas from Van Nuys Senior High School, Aubrey Walker from Polytechnic School in Pasadena, Charles Walker from Marshall Fundamental High School and Justina Walker from Marshall Fundamental High School, were selected to receive an RMHC scholarship based on a number of criteria including grade point average, community involvement, leadership skills, letters of recommendation, and financial need.

The college funds were awarded through four RMHC scholarship programs: RMHC/African American Future Achievers, RMHC/Asian Pacific American Students Increasing Achievement, RMHC/Hispanic American Commitment to Educational Resources and RMHC/Scholars. Scholarship funds can be applied toward tuition, fees and other appropriate educational expenses. Since 1990, the Southern California chapter of RMHC has awarded nearly $3.8 million in scholarship funds to local students to help make their dream of a college education a reality. Funding for the scholarships is made possible through the global and Southern California chapters of RMHC and the fundraising efforts of local McDonald’s owner/operators and corporate staff. McDonald’s Operators’ Association of Southern California pays for all administrative costs of the Southern California scholarship program including producing and distributing the applications and hosting the recipient recognition event.

“These 104 scholarship recipients are self motivated individuals that deserve recognition for their academic excellence, leadership and community involvement,” said Rob Parker, RMHCSC Chief Executive Officer. “Through our scholarship programs, RMHCSC is able to fulfill its commitment to education, by providing Southern California youth the opportunity to pursue a higher education.” For more than 30 years Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California has been dedicated to creating a community where children and their families embrace life and healing with a sense of hope, enthusiasm, courage and joy. In addition to four scholarship programs, the organization operates five Ronald McDonald Houses, Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times, two Ronald McDonald Family Rooms and a Community Grants Board.

For more information, visit www.rmhcsc.org or www.twitter.com/ rmhc_socal. McDonald’s Operators’ Association of Southern California is comprised of more than 600 franchised and company-owned McDonald’s restaurants in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties.