OAK BROOK, Ill., June 26 /PRNewswire/ -- McDonald's announced today the selection of four Hispanic high school seniors who will each receive a college scholarship of $100,000 to fulfill their college dreams. The students -- selected for their academic achievement, financial need and community service -- will be awarded $25,000 per year for the next four years beginning this fall.

"McDonald's provided the funding for the four national Ronald McDonald House Charities(R)/Hispanic American Commitment to Education Resources(R) (RMHC(R)/HACER(R)) scholarships this year to build on our 23-year commitment to help Hispanic students achieve their college dreams," said Cristina Vilella, Director of Marketing, McDonald's USA. "We know there are a lot of talented students in our community who are unable to attend college because of financial constraints. We want to support them financially so they can stay focused on their education."
The four scholarship recipients are:

• Brigitte Morales, Miami, FL, attending Massachusetts Institute of
  Technology majoring in Chemical Engineering
  
• Samuel A. Cruz, Union City, NJ, attending Ramapo College majoring in Biochemistry
  
• Brian Campos, Brooklyn, NY, attending Harvard University majoring in Neurobiology
  
• Maira Mercado, Riverside, CA, attending Claremont McKenna College
  majoring in Economics and Mathematics

Since 1985, RMHC/HACER has awarded more than $17.9 million in scholarships to more than 12,000 Hispanic students in the U.S. RMHC/HACER is a program of Ronald McDonald House Charities and its local chapters, which provide scholarships in several regions of the country. This is the first year the scholarships are awarded to students on a national level. The program is supported through the efforts of McDonald's owner/operators, local and national community leaders and individual donors.

In addition to supporting the scholarship program, McDonald's collaborates with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund to present an annual series of free, bilingual college workshops to provide students and their families with essential college preparation information to help students achieve their educational goals. In 2007, 4,000 parents and students participated in these workshops. This year the workshops will be held in the fall in Denver, CO; Phoenix, AZ, Indianapolis, IN, Atlanta, GA, El Paso, TX, Boston, MA, Lynwood, CA, Newark, NJ, Orlando, FL, San Jose, CA and Chicago, IL.

For more information on the scholarship, schedules and other resources, please visit www.MeEncanta.com.

About McDonald's(R)
McDonald's USA, LLC is the leading foodservice provider in the United States serving a variety of wholesome foods made from quality ingredients to millions of customers every day. More than 80 percent of McDonald's 13,700 U.S. restaurants are independently owned and operated by local franchisees. For more information about McDonald's visit meencanta.com.

About RMHC(R)
Ronald McDonald House Charities, a non-profit, 501 (c)(3) corporation, creates, finds and supports programs that directly improve the health and well being of children. Its programs are grassroots-driven to enable the Charity to offer help where children need it most: right in their own communities. RMHC makes an immediate, positive impact on children's lives through its global network of local Chapters in nearly 52 countries and its three core programs: the Ronald McDonald House(R), Ronald McDonald Family Room and Ronald McDonald Care Mobile. RMHC and its global network of local Chapters have awarded more than $460 million in grants and program services to children's programs around the world.

McDonald's Corporation

McDonald's Corporation

McDonald’s is the world’s leading global foodservice retailer with nearly 40,000 locations in over 100 countries. Approximately 95% of McDonald’s restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local business owners.

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