Ronald McDonald House Helps Families in Need

The Ronald McDonald House was started in 1974 by a member of the Philadelphia Eagles football team, Fred Hill. His three year old daughter was being treated for leukemia and the Hill's had nowhere to go during her treatments. The hospital didn't provide very comfortable amenities for the family, so he looked into what could be done. Surely there was something more than sleeping in waiting room chairs and eating out of vending machines for the duration of the child's hospital stay. After the Eagles worked to raise money to help fund a home for the parents while their children were hospitalized, their general manager contacted Dr. Audrey Evans, an oncologist at the PediatricHospital in Philadelphia, PA, and Don Tucker, an advertiser through McDonalds. Tucker started a McDonald's promotion, green milkshakes for St. Patrick's Day, for which the funds went toward the purchase of an old home near the hospital. The purchase of this home began the legacy that is the Ronald McDonald House.

There are around 245 Ronald McDonald Houses in the United States and other countries. What is the purpose of it? The Ronald McDonald house is a place used by parents as a "home away from home" when children are staying in the hospital. Whether a child is staying in the hospital for a day or an extended period of time, for illness or for medical treatment, parents can be comforted by the thought that they can stay nearby in a Ronald McDonald House instead of a costly hotel room or, worse, in a chair in the corner of the hospital room. Each room is like a small hotel room. There is a bed, a dresser, a closet, a phone and an alarm clock. Each room doesn't have its own bathroom, but around 3 or 4 rooms of people share one bathroom. Downstairs in each Ronald McDonald House is a kitchen where people can use the refrigerator (each room is assigned to a shelf in the large refrigerator), stove, microwave, or store food in the pantry. There is also an area where people can watch some television. The Ronald McDonald House has volunteers come in and help cook hot meals for the families. (There are some nights where they are on their own, but usually a meal has been donated). There is a computer for parents to send e-mails and a phone booth with a payphone to make phone calls. Generally there is a shuttle bus that runs from the hospital to the Ronald McDonald House.

Each house is funded in different ways, from donations to fundraisers to contributions by various corporations (McDonalds being a large donator!). The cost to stay in a room per night is around $50-$100; however, each family is asked to contribute between $5 and $25 a night. This fee is waived if the family cannot afford it. The Ronald McDonald House is generally run by volunteers. Volunteers do various duties, from cleaning the Ronald McDonald House to hosting game nights.

My experience at the Ronald McDonald House was very positive. We stayed at the RMH in Charlottesville near the University of Virginia Medical Center. My then 9 month old daughter was scheduled to have a laryngyoplasty. We checked in and were escorted to our room. They had set her up a portable crib, as she was staying one night there and was scheduled to be admitted the next morning. We had a nice meal that the volunteers had prepared in the kitchen and watched some television in the sitting room downstairs. The next morning, the shuttle bus picked us up and transported us to the hospital. Our stay was all in all pleasant, and we were quite comfortable staying in the Ronald McDonald House. I have stayed at other hospitals that didn't have a nearby RMH, and I can say that sleeping on a chair that pulls out to a bed and eating a boxed lunch is not all it is cracked up to be.

If you are looking to donate to a charity, consider Ronald McDonald House as your charity. They even accept people who want to donate meals. This is one charity that is often overlooked during the holidays. Think about all the families with children in the hospital.