For many years, shortages of classrooms, chairs, and other educational facilities have been an ongoing challenge for the Philippine educational system. In fact, for this school year, the Department of Education (DepEd) has reported a total of 159,000 classroom shortages to cater to 22 million learners enrolled this year.

In an effort to extend a lending hand in providing solutions to the lack of facilities and equipment in different schools, especially in public schools, McDonald's launched its “ReClassified” classroom project. This initiative aims to improve students' educational experiences by providing new functional chairs and tables made from repurposed materials.

McDonald’s is renovating at least 60 of its stores nationwide annually, and the equipment and furniture in these branches have the potential to be effectively reused for other purposes. Thus, it gave birth to the idea of seats with comfortable armchairs made of decommissioned dining chairs, tables, plastics, wood, and steel from these renovated stores. McDonald’s partnered with IDr. Willie Garcia, the Founder and Principal Designer of Junk Not - a noted social enterprise that upcycles plastic materials into new furnishings.

“As McDonald’s grows and reimagines more of its stores to improve the customer experience, our commitment to people and communities also grows,” says Adi Hernandez, McDonald’s Philippines AVP for Corporate Relations. “We have, and always will, advocate for the youth through education – and we have been doing so by providing them with regular employment opportunities and world-class training, supporting our charity of choice, Ronald McDonald House Charities and its programs, as well as our other community initiatives like McDonald’s Classroom and Brigada Eskwela.”

Looking at it, "ReClassified" will benefit not only schools and students but also the environment because of its sustainable origin of recycling materials instead of simply throwing things away.

The first beneficiary

For the kick-off of “ReClassified,” last Friday, Sept. 8, 2023, San Roque Elementary School in Marikina City was selected as the beneficiary of the project. A total of 200 colorful chairs inspired by the fast food chain’s color palette had been turned over to the school, occupying two classrooms.

Mayor Marcelino Teodoro of Marikina City shared that the students prefer using these new chairs because of their colors and because the children know they came from McDonald's.  

“We, in government, are at the helm of ensuring quality education for all, but we cannot do it alone. Sabi nga, education is everyone’s responsibility. Creative solutions through strategic partnerships with various sectors amplify positive outcomes. No matter the scale, collaborations such as this ReClassified project contribute to our shared goals for Filipino learners. Kaya’t salamat McDonald’s for choosing Marikina and my alma mater, San Roque Elementary School, as your first beneficiary,” the good Mayor says. “During our initial meeting, I informed them that we have adequate facilities and classrooms but need more furniture, such as school chairs. McDonald’s generously volunteered the ReClassified classrooms to the City of Marikina, and I expressed my interest in this opportunity.”

Meanwhile, Adi says that before this partnership, Marikina was a longstanding partner of the company. This is one of the considerations why San Roque ES has been chosen as the first-ever beneficiary of the “ReClassified” project. Still, the company is excited to extend this project to other parts of the country, benefiting more students and inspiring them to enjoy going to school and be keen to learn something new every day.

“We worked with them through our charity of choice, which is Ronald McDonald House Charities. That’s why the partnership is easy,” Adi shared. “ReClassified is something we are excited about, and we are committed to having more ReClassified classrooms nationwide to benefit more Filipino students. We are thankful for the collaboration with the City of Marikina and look forward to partnering with more local government units for this initiative.”

To learn more about the McDonald’s ReClassified Project and its developments, please follow the McDo PH Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/McDo.ph/.