Local businessman donates £10,000 to Ronald McDonald House Tooting

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Kalpesh Patel, a local businessman, donated £10,000 to Ronald McDonald House Tooting, located in the grounds of St George's Hospital. The House provides free 'home away from home' accommodation to families whose children are being treated in hospital.

Kalpesh Patel started his career with McDonald’s at the age of 17 as a part time crew member. 18 years later, he is an accomplished businessman who owns nine McDonald’s restaurants in some of the busiest areas of South and South West London. Born in Stockwell and brought up from the age of 11 in Wandsworth, Kalpesh has a close affiliation with the areas of London in which his restaurants are located.

When Kalpesh takes time away from his busy job of being a McDonald’s franchisee you will find him working hard to raise money for Ronald McDonald House Charities, an independent charity which provides free ‘home away from home’ accommodation for families whose children are being treated in hospital.

Along with supporting the Charity on a national level, Kalpesh has also forged strong links with Ronald McDonald House Tooting, located in the grounds of St George’s Hospital. Sitting on the Board of Trustees for the Tooting House, Kalpesh dedicates time and energy using his business expertise to help ensure the smooth running of this much needed family facility. His efforts, however, extend beyond his duties as a Trustee and over the course of four years Kalpesh and his staff have raised in excess of £25,000 for Ronald McDonald House Tooting.

Speaking about a recent donation to Ronald McDonald House Tooting, Kalpesh says:

“In 2011 we decided to go all out on our fundraising efforts for Ronald McDonald House Tooting and with my Clapham Junction store manager Alex firmly on board, we sold more charity key rings than ever before. Add the profits of that to other fundraising initiatives throughout the year and the total amount raised reached £10,000. We have since found out that our stores came in second, third, fourth and fifth place across the UK for the numbers of Ronald McDonald House Charities key rings sold which of course we were delighted about and Alex has been rewarded for his hard work with an all expenses paid holiday for him and his family.“

Motivating his staff to work hard to raise funds for the Charity is something that Kalpesh keeps at the forefront of his mind. In the induction session given to each member of staff, Kalpesh ensures that there is a presentation about the work of Ronald McDonald House Charities and in particular his support of the local Tooting based House. Aware of how impactful it is to actually go to a Ronald McDonald House and see how it supports families, Kalpesh also organises regular visits for his Restaurant Managers to the House in Tooting.

Summing up his personal motivation for supporting Ronald McDonald House Charities Kalpesh says:

“Most franchisees donate a percentage of their profits to the national fund for Ronald McDonald House Charities and all McDonald’s restaurants have collection boxes at the till point for customers to donate their loose change, so from a corporate perspective we are encouraged to support the Charity. However, our relationship with Ronald McDonald House Tooting is something which I personally feel very strongly about. Having spent time in the House, even at one point giving some cover for the House Manager for a couple of days, I have witnessed for myself the important work that this charity does.”
He continues:

“I am a father of two young children and I can’t imagine being in a situation where one of them needed to be in a hospital miles away from home. St George’s Hospital offers some very specialist and important paediatric services and in some cases children come from long distances to receive their treatment. By providing free ‘home away from home’ accommodation Ronald McDonald House Charities is helping to support these families in their hour of need. We will continue to do everything we can to support the Charity as a whole and our local House in Tooting.”