The Ronald McDonald House Charities

The Ronald McDonald House is a charity organization dedicated to working on improving the lives of children and their families. The organization backs Ronald McDonald Houses, a place where the families of children that are in a nearby hospital can stay at night for a reduced or no cost. In 1974, the first Ronald McDonald House opened in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was meant to provide a "home away from home" for families of seriously sick children in the process of receiving treatment at nearby hospitals. A year later, the first Ronald McDonald House outside the United States opened in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Since then, more than 10 million families around the world have benefited from the comfort provided by a Ronald McDonald House.

Over the years, the Ronald McDonald Houses have been financially supported by donations from the public and corporate benefactors that form marketing partnerships with the organization. In many McDonald's restaurants, there is usually a pocket change piggy bank that is placed as a fundraiser that forwards any customer’s donation to the Ronald McDonald Houses.

Although the Ronald McDonald Houses are not owned or managed by the McDonald’s corporation, the company supplies the houses with free equipment and services to reduce the cost of operation, and to promote its various fundraising events. In 2003, Joan Kroc, the wife of McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc, donated $60 million to the Ronald McDonald House Charities.

In establishing and supporting programs that directly improve the health and welfare of children, the Ronald McDonald House Charities continues working to improve the lives of children and their families around the world. The charity contains three core programs: the Ronald McDonald House, the Ronald McDonald Family Room, and the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile; each service is dedicated to helping families in need. Though the charity is mainly known for the foundation stone, the Ronald McDonald House, their other programs have proven to be beneficial as well over the years.

The Ronald McDonald Family Room expands on the comfort and solace of a Ronald McDonald House to a hospital setting. The room is typically located just steps from neonatal or pediatric intensive care units. The Family Room offers families a haven to escape the stress and anxieties of the hospital.

With the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile, the program provides cost-effective medical, dental and health education services directly to underserved children in both rural and urban areas around the world. The program operates in establishing partnerships with various local health care providers.

In addition to supporting the core programs, the Ronald McDonald House Charities and the global network of local Chapters in 49 countries have donated more than $440 million dollars in grants and program services worldwide to make an instant, positive impact on as many children as possible. With the support from hundreds of thousands of fervent and caring volunteers, donors and the organization’s staff, the Ronald McDonald House Charities has proven to be highly successful.