THE fourth McHappy Run was held at Splendid China • China Folk Culture Villages in Shenzhen on Saturday morning.

More than 3,000 children and their parents donned parent-child outfits, featuring red and white socks, and joined hands to complete the McHappy Run, an activity to aid the construction of Ronald McDonald Houses.

This year, about 45,000 children and their parents in 16 cities will join the large-scale activity to support the Ronald McDonald House project, which helps sick children and their families who are from out of town and seeking medical treatment.

Sponsored by McDonald’s since 2014, McHappy Run has been a family event designed for children and parents who want to help fund the construction of Ronald McDonald Houses.

The donation will be used for the daily operation of the Hunan Ronald McDonald House, the first Ronald McDonald House on Chinese mainland, and the construction of more such houses near hospitals. McDonald’s will also donate part of the raised money to the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation in the name of an enterprise.

Zhang Jianzhou, vice president of McDonald’s Shenzhen and the western Guangdong market, said that more families have participated in the activity over the years. He added that more Ronald McDonald Houses will be built in different cities.

As of June 2017, Hunan Ronald McDonald House in Changsha had provided free accommodations to 145 families seeking medical treatment, since opening in January 2016.