The cast and team involved with Willy Wonka Jr. (Submitted/ Jonathan Lao )

By Nigel Maxwell

Community support

Willy Wonka Jr. helps raise $50,000 for Ronald McDonald House

Dec 9, 2024 | 5:00 PM

There is an extra sweet ending to the Broadway North Youth Company’s latest production of Willy Wonka Jr.

Thanks to ticket sales and support from the Malcom Jenkins Family Foundation, $50,000 has been raised to help support construction of the new Ronald McDonald House in Prince Albert.

For every ticket sold, the foundation and Mark Ripley donated $20 towards the project and Malcolm Jenkins noted there were six sold out matinee shows for the youth, and about 2,200 people came out for the evening shows.

“So it came out to about $48,000, so we thought, what the heck, let’s round it up,” Jenkins said.

The show ran for over a week and featured 80 cast members. Jenkins noted the decision this year to support Ronald McDonald house was mostly about timing.

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“This is the year the year we want to build the Ronald McDonald house and any money raised goes into construction so the need sort of pops naturally to the top of the list,” he said.

The amount donated to the Ronald McDonald House follows a number of other recent big community fundraising announcements.

Last week’s Santa Brunch raised $100,000 for the Rose Garden hospice. Friday’s Give a Little Life Day Radiothon raised over $375,000 for the Boreal Healthcare Foundation. And just like the everlasting gobstopper in Roald Dahl’s classic story, Jenkins noted generosity in Prince Albert never ends.

“If they see a need, they help solve it. It’s wonderful,” he said.

The designs plan for the spacious 12-room Ronald McDonald House (RMH) in Prince Albert was unveiled last June.

The total cost of the project is $8 million. Tammy Forrester, CEO of Ronald McDonald House Charities, previously explained they will get shovels in the ground when they reach 80 per cent.

Construction is expected to take about 18 months and the goal is to be open by early to mid 2026.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @nigelmaxwell