SAUGUS — A local McDonald’s franchisee, Lindsay Wallin, is looking to help make a difference with a Rally for Ryan fundraiser at the two McDonald’s locations in Saugus, from May 13-17 through the McDonald’s mobile app.
The Rally for Ryan fundraiser will be benefiting Ryan Fariole, a high schooler and resident of Saugus whose mother passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on April 9.
Fariole’s mother took care not only of him, but also was caregiver to his grandmother. After his mother’s passing, he will now be sole caregiver for his grandmother, on top of taking care of schooling responsibilities.
Lauren Hromada, a close friend of Fariole and his mother, Anna, said that the relationship between Fariole and his mother was “very tight.”
“They did a lot together,” Hromada said, “They would go to New Hampshire, and spend weekends in New Hampshire together. Ryan did a lot with his mom.”
Hromada said that Lake Winnipesaukee was their family vacation spot, and said that it was Anna’s “getaway.”
With the passing of his mother, Fariole’s responsibilities have shifted, “you go from working part-time to make money to pay for gas, and now he has to worry about car insurance and groceries — things that 17 year old’s shouldn’t have to worry about,” Hromada said.
McDonald’s franchisee Lindsay Wallin found out about Ryan through a GoFundMe page, “it really struck a chord for me, because I am also a single mom, and the idea of a high school kid, when you really need your mom, to lose her, so suddenly and unexpectedly when she was taking care of both him and his grandmother, it just really hit home for me. And I wanted to do whatever I could to help support him,” Wallin said.
The fundraiser is a first for Wallin, as she said that they mostly put on fundraising events for local schools, and those events only last for around two hours or so.
“This one, I wanted to open it up to something bigger, because I want to sort of go all-out for him. I wanted to give a lot of people the opportunity to participate,” Wallin said of the fundraiser.
“People that normally go every day for their breakfast sandwiches, or a coffee, if they start using the app, it can go towards something bigger,” “their regular everyday purchases can help so much more,” Wallin said.
”Anna had a big group of friends, but she had a small group of close friends — and those close friends are there for Ryan…we’ll do anything to help.” Hromada said that Fariole is “so grateful that people have reached out, and that this many people have shown their love and support for him.”
The fundraiser is being held only at the Saugus McDonald’s locations, located at 738 Broadway on Route One North, and 127 Broadway on Route One South. 20% of the proceeds from mobile orders during the five-day fundraiser will be donated to help Fariole.
