McDonald's serves up cash to students

McDonald's Corp. is giving the Memorial Student Union $10,000 each year it is on the University of Arizona campus. The restaurant opened Oct. 1.

The gift money, specified in McDonald's contract with the University of Arizona, is to be doled out to student-initiated programs that Student Union officials feel are deserving, said Student Union Director Dan Adams.

"I think this stresses the partnership between McDonald's and the students," Adams said. "McDonald's is willing to support the students and reach out to the campus population."

Student Union officials have given out $1,030 since they began distributing money this semester.

The Alternative Spring Break program, one of three organizations that has utilized the program, received $500 from the Student Union, said Parmi Suchdev, Alternative Spring Break program director.

Alternative Spring Break gives students a chance to do service work instead of the usual partying during the week off from school, Suchdev said.

The additional money will help send 30 students to Mexico to help youths in school and 30 students to a Navajo reservation to help plant a garden for the tribal college, Suchdev said.

"It's a great way to get access to additional money for programs," Suchdev said. "And the turnaround time is really fast."

Programs must meet three criteria in order to be approved for funding, Adams said. They must be student-initiated, open to all students on campus and have shown a collaborative effort to get other financial help.

The Collegiate Institution for Leadership also has received $500 from the program and the UA's University Activities Board received $30, said Dan Maxwell, assistant director for the Student Union.

The Collegiate Institution for Leadership wrote a proposal and received the McDonald's money for a leadership conference open to all students, said Ann Wolnick, program director for student programs.

"It's very easy for the students to get money," Wolnick said.

"The conference was a huge success," she said. "We were able to include more students and keep the cost down due to the money from the Union."

Adam said a minimum or maximum amount of money an organization can get through the program has not yet been determined.

"I am glad to have this opportunity to contribute to programs, to go above and beyond the normal help," Maxwell said.

The Union will receive $10,000 from McDonald's every July 1, he said. Any money not spent will carry over to the next fiscal year.

Students interested in getting program funding can go to the Student Union director's office, Room 207.