Aaliyah Crump’s McDonald’s journey rooted in giving back

Earning a spot on the McDonald’s All-American team satisfied more than just a lifelong dream for Texas women’s basketball commit Aaliyah Crump.

Crump, along with 23 of the nation’s top players, will face off in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center on April 1, but her excitement is fueled by her family’s decades-long connection to the McDonald’s franchise and the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC).

“This has always been a dream of mine to be a McDonald’s All-American so when I started playing basketball like this is one of the things I always just look forward to and kind of strive to become,” Crump said. “So I think it really just shows me that all my hard work paid off, and then obviously having that personal connection. It’s kind of cool to just see how basketball can really connect to my personal life and bring all those pieces together.”

Decades before Crump was born, her grandparents, Jay and Gloria Chadima, were McDonald’s franchise owners in the 1960s and owned over 20 locations across the Midwest.

Crump’s great-grandfather was one of the first franchise owners to try the change box at his location. Customers could donate spare change, which would then be donated to charity. Ashley Wolf, Crump’s mother, remembers the stories of how the initiative impacted the community.

“I think they had said within the first week, they had raised, like, over $3,000 in it,” her mother, Ashley Wolf, said. “So he went back to the other McDonald’s owners and was like, ‘Hey, this could really do something,’ and so then that was how they started implementing it across the entire country….Those franchise owners became really close and took family vacations and everything together. So it became like their own extended family.”

Crump’s great-grandmother, Gloria, who is 94 years old, is still actively involved with the foundation and founded the annual Love Luncheon for the Ronald McDonald House in the Twin Cities. Crump’s mother was happy to learn that the money raised from the games goes back to the foundation her grandparents were heavily involved in.

“This is a true full circle moment to see again a foundation that is so dear to our family and my grandparents’ heart to now see, like Aaliyah playing in a game that is supporting that same foundation is so cool,” her mother said.

In today’s era of NIL deals, Crump and her mother are intentional about using their relationships to give back to the communities in which she’s actively involved. Crump carries her family legacy of generosity in the locker room and extends her brand partnerships to her teammates.

“Seeing the impact that they made on McDonald’s, and just even people around it, people that might’ve needed help [and]  just that extra boost that they gave them. I think that was just really cool and inspiring to see,” Crump said. “So now, being able to be a part of McDonald’s All American [game] really inspires me to just give back to those people around me and give back to the communities that might need a little extra push or help.”

When she was the first athlete signed by Klutch Athletics by New Balance, she made sure her teammates were gifted items from the collection.

“I’m blessed with the opportunity to receive the things that I receive. We all put in hard work. We all deserve it [and] they might get it some other [things], but I do think it’s really important for me to just share it with everyone,” Crump said.

“I think it’s important that everyone around feels that same reward. So I think it was just a really great feeling, just to see them happy [and] just building that team aspect, knowing that we’re always there for each other. [I’m] giving back to them, just as I know they would give back to me.”

Despite considering graduating high school early, Crump is happy she decided against the idea and looks forward to competing with and against other McDonald’s All-Americans she’s befriended throughout her basketball journey. Crump says she and her Monteverde Academy teammate and roommate Agot Makeer, a South Carolina commit, are cherishing their final high school games together before the two begin their college careers on different SEC teams.

Crump and Makeer have been practicing hard for a busy week of high-level basketball as both are participating in the McDonald’s All-American game and the Chipotle High School Invitational in a matter of days.

“I just want to let the game come [and] take it all in—kind of just showing that I can play with everyone there. I’m willing to do whatever it is to get that win for my team,’ Crump said. “But I think that’s the biggest thing going into Texas, just going in with the mindset that I’m going to work as hard as I can and give whatever I can to the team in order to find success.”