Since its inception in 1974, the Ronald McDonald House Charities have helped families with sick children stay together during difficult times. These houses strive to provide a home away from home for parents and siblings of very sick children. The Ronald McDonald House is open to all families, whatever their financial circumstances might be.
In Time of Crisis
When a child faces a medical crisis, it throws the entire family into turmoil. Most families do not live close to the specialized medical facilities their children require. Yet parents need to be present on a day-to-day basis to meet with doctors, monitor their child’s progress, and make medical decisions. Just as important, parents need to provide emotional support to their little ones. Surgeries, therapy, and other ongoing medical treatments are often frightening to young children. The isolation of staying in a hospital also takes an emotional toll. Children facing long-term medical conditions may require hospital stays of several weeks or months. These long stays place a unique burden on families who want to be close to their children but live far away.
Designed For Families
Enter the Ronald McDonald House. These homes are designed with families in mind, set up specifically for families facing long-term stays near a medical facility. The goal is to give these families a home they can return to after a long day at the hospital. Here, they can rest and enjoy a home-cooked meal without the burden of cooking, cleaning, or paying an expensive hotel bill.
The Best Care
Volunteers at the houses shoulder that burden, giving parents and siblings a reprieve during an extremely stressful time. Ronald McDonald Houses provide private bedrooms, home-cooked meals, and playrooms for children. Some houses also offer special suites for children with suppressed immune systems, accredited education programs, recreational activities, non-clinical support services, and sibling support services. All these services are provided to families regardless of their ability to pay. Some houses are free, while others ask for a donation of up to $25 per day. But no one is turned away; fees are waived for families in need.
The Ronald McDonald House Charities recognizes that a severely ill child affects the whole family. With their houses, the charity hopes to help families forget about housekeeping and focus on healing.