By Staff Reports
(Honolulu)– Ronald McDonald’s famous red shoeprints will once again make an appearance across the state as part of this year’s McDonald’s® Restaurants of Hawaii’s Pedestrian Safety Decal Installation Program. Over the past three years, McDonald’s will have installed 66 decals in more than 50 elementary schools. The program is part of the State of Hawaii’s Pedestrian Safety Awareness Month in August and is supported by the state Department of Transportation (DOT), the state Department of Education and all four county governments.
“We are happy to support a traffic-safety program that encourages our keiki to stop and look both ways before crossing a street,” said Melanie Okazaki, regional marketing manager of McDonald’s Restaurants of Hawaii. “If we can influence just one child to practice safer habits while crossing the street, we are helping to fulfill the goal of this program.”
During this month, 31 of Ronald’s bright red shoeprint safety decals will be installed at 25 elementary schools. The shoeprints are accompanied by a bold message in red and yellow reminding students to “STOP” and “LOOK BOTH WAYS” before crossing the street. The installation dates and schools are as follows:
Photos courtesy of Grace Pacific LLC
Oahu: July 15 – 16
• Wahiawa Elementary
• Lunalilo Elementary
• Kalihi Elementary
• Kalihi Kai Elementary
• Kalihiwaena Elementary
Maui: July 24 – 25
• Haiku Elementary
• King Kamehameha III Elementary
• Kula Elementary
• Pukalani Elementary
• Makawao Elementary
Kauai: July 29 – 30
• Wilcox Elementary
• Kalaheo Elementary
• Kilauea Elementary
• Hanalei Elementary
• Saint Catherine Elementary
Big Island: July
• Chiefess Kapiolani Elementary
• DeSilva Elementary
• Haaheo Elementary
• Kalanianaole Elementary
• Kaumana Elementary
• Keeau Elementary
• Keaukaha Elementary
• Laupahoehoe Elementary
• Waiakea Elementary
• Waiakeawaena Elementary
Photos courtesy of Grace Pacific LLC
“We sincerely appreciate McDonald’s Restaurants of Hawaii and Ronald McDonald for their work in the community,” said Laura Vines, Kalihi Kai Elementary School principal. “Ronald’s famous red shoeprints are a fun way to help our children practice safe habits while crossing the streets around our school.”
Younger children are particularly vulnerable to motor vehicle collisions, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Center for Statistics and Analysis. The Hawaii Pedestrian Toolbox May 2013 report explains that because children have a shorter field of vision due to their small stature, children are less able to determine the direction, speed and distance of oncoming sounds and are sometimes too small to be seen by motor vehicles traveling at a fast speed or by inattentive drivers.
The safety decals will be installed with partner Grace Pacific at elementary schools near intersections that have been identified as “areas of concern” by the DOT’s Statewide Pedestrian Master Plan.
About McDonald’s Restaurants of Hawaii
McDonald’s Restaurants of Hawaii has 85 restaurants and more than 5,200 employees in Hawaii, Guam and Saipan. In Hawaii alone, the company has 75 restaurants and more than 4,600 employees. McDonald’s total economic impact on the state yearly, directly and indirectly, is about $370 million in spending and nearly 12,000 jobs in the community. McDonald’s prides itself on offering career opportunities to employees, with most managers staying with the company for more than 18 years. Follow McDonald’s Restaurants of Hawaii on Twitter at @McDonaldsHawaii.
About McDonald’s
McDonald’s USA, LLC, serves a variety of menu options made from quality ingredients to more than 26 million customers every day. Nearly 89 percent of McDonald’s 14,000 U.S. restaurants are independently owned and operated by businessmen and women. Customers can now log online for free at approximately 11,500 participating Wi-Fi enabled McDonald’s U.S. restaurants. For more information, visit www.mcdonalds.com, or follow us on Twitter (@McDonalds) and Facebook (Facebook.com/McDonalds) for updates on our business, promotions and products.
