News

McDonald’s Men of McCafe winners introduced

July 13, 2011

An all-star lineup was on hand in New Orleans, La., last week during the Essence Music Festival and for the 2011 McDonald's 365Black Awards.

This year's honorees included Mary J. Blige, Ruby Dee, Cathy Hughes, Benjamin Jealous and Henry (Hank) Thomas.

During the festival, McDonald's introduced its Men of McCafe casting call winners, who were chosen out of hundreds of applicants for their philanthropic community efforts. They include Billy J. Walker, 33, Southhaven, Miss.; Harold G. Burnett II, 26, Dover, Del.; Maurice Lee, 35, Orangeburg, S.C.; Phillip Solomon, 25, East Brunswick, N.J.; and Lucas Boyce, 32, Orlando, Fla.

McDonald's was an official sponsor of the 2011 Essence Music Festival that attracted an estimated 440,000 festival-goers to New Orleans.

The 365Black Awards were launched in 2003 as an extension of McDonald's 365Black initiative, created to celebrate the achievements of African-Americans year round. McDonald's Men of McCafe Casting Call is a national search launched in September 2010 to identify and celebrate community service-oriented men between 18 to 34 years old who are "making a difference" in the African American community.