Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Fastfood giant McDonald’s has transformed its old chairs and tables into school seats students can use in Marikina City.
Under its first ReClassified classrooms initiative, McDonald’s tapped social enterprise Junk Not to upcycle their decommissioned furnishings to produce durable school armchairs and tables. This also solves a potential waste problem that could occur from the company’s renovation of at least 60 restaurants every year in the country.
More receptive students
‘7’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:d051cf41-a0a6-42cf-ac42-b7ca58e5cee9’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘The cheerful students of San Roque Elementary School are happy to start the school year with their new school chairs from McDonald’s ReClassified.
The first batch has been turned over to San Roque Elementary School. “Bilang mga guro, alam namin kung gaano ka-importante na mabigyan ang ating mga estudyante ng pinakamabuting kagamitan para sa kanilang pag-aaral [Educators know how important it is to provide our students with the best resources and equipment for their learning],” said Adoracion Valderrama, principal of San Roque Elementary School.
“Having these ReClassified chairs and tables from McDo will lead to significantly better class engagement — the kids, most especially, are excited to use them starting this term.” She added that the teachers have noticed that the kids have become more participative and receptive to their teaching since using the new armchairs.
Improved design
’32’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:d933e461-96b9-42d1-9499-1e44cb98bff0’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘McDonald’s ReClassified school seats are made entirely out of decommissioned chairs, tables, plastic, wood, and steel gathered from renovated
For the project, McDo teamed up with IDr. Willie Garcia, founder and principal designer of Junk Not. According to a press release, Garcia and her team followed global standards in creating and improving the design of the arm desks.
The repurposed materials from the fastfood restaurants went through a rigid process from prototyping to production to ensure that the arm desks are safe, durable, and functional, it added.
Beyond Marikina
Marikina City Mayor Marcelino “Marcy” Teodoro, an alumnus of the institution, believes it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure quality education for all.
“No matter the scale, collaborations such as this ReClassified project contribute to our shared goals for Filipino learners. Kaya’t salamat [So, thank you,] McDonald’s for choosing Marikina and my alma mater, San Roque Elementary School, as your first beneficiary,” Teodoro said.
McDonald’s, meanwhile, announced it is conducting the ReClassified initiative across the country soon.
’33’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:bf433fa9-42db-49f3-88a9-4690eb52b545’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘Adi Timbol-Hernandez, McDonald’s Philippines AVP for Corporate Relations, excitedly and officially launching McDonald’s ReClassified in
“ReClassified is something we are excited about, and we are working to have more of these ReClassified classrooms nationwide to benefit more Filipino students,” said Adi Timbol-Hernandez, McDonald’s Philippines AVP for Corporate Relations.
“We are thankful to Marikina City — most especially for believing in this initiative and collaborating with us. We certainly look forward to partnering with more local government units and schools for this initiative in the near future,” Hernandez added.
To learn more about the McDonald’s ReClassified Project and its developments, visit the McDo PH Facebook page.
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