Ronald McDonald House Charities

Ronald McDonald House Charities
Formation 1974[1]
Type Health care, charity, social welfare
Headquarters Oak Brook, IL, USA
Location
  • 325 Houses Worldwide
Official language
 English
Key people
 J.C. Gonzalez-Mendez (President and CEO)
Sheila Musolino
(Vice President and Chief Operating Officer)
Website rmhc.org
Ronald McDonald House in Essen, Germany, designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser
Ronald McDonald House in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia
Ronald McDonald House collection canister

Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) is an independent 501c3 nonprofit organization[2] whose mission is to create, find, and support programs that directly improve the health and well being of children.[3]

From early on, the organization had deep support from Ray Kroc's empire. Gerald Newman, Chief Accounting Officer for McDonald's Corporation, was "one of the founders of Ronald McDonald Children's Charities and was president of R.M.H.C."[4]

RMHC has a global network of Chapters in 52 countries under three core programs, Ronald McDonald House, Ronald McDonald Family Room and Ronald McDonald Care Mobile.

Programs

There are currently 322 Ronald McDonald's Houses in 57 countries and regions. Ronald McDonald Houses act as a place to stay for families with hospitalized children who are receiving treatment. Ronald McDonald's Houses provide over 7,200 bedrooms to families around the world each night, with an estimated value of $257 million in lieu of hotel costs.

There are currently 161 Ronald McDonald's Family Rooms[5] in 19 countries and regions. These Rooms accommodate over 3,000 families each day who live in the local community and don't need to stay at a Ronald McDonald House. They provide a place for family members to rest, wash clothes, take a shower, or nap near the vicinity of their child.

There are currently 43 Ronald McDonald's Care Mobiles[6] in 6 countries. Ronald McDonald Care Mobiles are mobile clinics that offer affordable health care for children in their own neighborhoods. The program serves more than 100,000 children a year, and saves families in the U.S. $10 million in medical and dental costs each year.

The Ronald McDonald's Learning Program (Australia only) was formed in 1997 to help children who had suffered serious illness and returned to school. The stated mission of the program is to provide educational support to these children who have fallen behind in their education. The Ronald McDonald Learning Program is the only program of its kind in Australia.

The Ronald McDonald's Learning Program supplies students with:

International

In 1981, the first Ronald McDonald's House outside the United States opened, in Toronto, Ontario. In 1991, the 150th Ronald McDonald's House opened, in Paris, France. On July 25, 2005, the 250th opened, in Caracas, Venezuela. The first in-hospital Ronald McDonald House in APMEA (Asia Pacific Middle East and Africa) opened at Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health, Bangkok, Thailand, on June 7, 2011. Currently there are 324 Ronald McDonald's Houses in 57 countries.

Australia

The first Ronald McDonald House was opened in Australia in Camperdown, New South Wales in 1981. The number of Houses has since grown to 14. It has since helped 100 000 families and houses up to 260 families per night.[7] Each House is attached to a major Children's or Women's hospital. Each House has an independent board that manages its own day to day funding.[8][9]

Other RMHC Australia activities include Family rooms in 7 hospitals, with plans for an additional 17. They are located at Princess Margaret Hospital, Perth, Western Australia; John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, New South Wales; Canberra Hospital, Canberra, ACT; Wodonga Hospital, Wodonga, Victoria; PEEL Health Campus, Western Australia; Monash Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria; Gosford Hospital, Gosford, New South Wales; Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales.[10][11]

RMHC Australia also operates Family Retreats that enable families of sick children to take a holiday for a week. The retreats are located in Ocean Grove, Victoria; Jurien Bay and Bunbury, Western Australia; Forster, New South Wales and Palm Cove in Northern Queensland.[12][13]

The Ronald McDonald Learning Program assists seriously ill children to catch up with missed education while staying in hospital. It provides assessment, therapy and tuition to children and training for teachers. It assists over 800 children a week.[14]

The Charlie Bell Scholarship Program is named after the first Australian Global McDonald's Corporation CEO. The program provides financial assistance in the form of 11 one off scholarships a year, of up to $A5,000. It assists with expenses related to vocational or tertiary education for children that have been seriously ill.[15][16]

The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile is a partnership between RMHC and Royal Far West. It is based in Orange in regional New South Wales and travels throughout rural and remote New South Wales.[17]

Ronald McDonald House Charity Australia is also the major private donor to Cord Blood Banks in Australia, providing a 5-year $A2.5 million commitment.[18]

Donation Boxes

The Ronald McDonald Houses rely on many volunteers to help operate the house and counts on donations from individuals to keep it running. RMHC Donation Boxes are located in most McDonald's restaurants. The organization also hosts Red Shoe Day where volunteers collect donations on the streets around town.

Pop Tab Program

Through the RMHC Pop Tab Collection Program, to date more than $4 million has been generated. The Pop Tab Collection Program has been established to allow individuals and businesses to collect soda pop tabs from aluminum cans and donate them to their local RMHC Chapter or Ronald McDonald's House. Though it differs from program to program, for the most part, RMHC Chapters use the money received from recycling the tabs to help offset operational expenses or to sponsor or support programs. Not all Houses participate in the Pop Tab Program.

Awards

Worth magazine named Ronald McDonald's House Charity one of "America’s 100 Best Charities" in 2001 and 2002.[19][20]

The U.S. Green Building Council certified the Ronald McDonald's House Charities of Austin and Central Texas (RMHC-ACT) with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification, the highest level of sustainable building in the nation.[21] Not only is the green design good for the environment, the eco-friendly features create a healthier environment for the children and families staying at the Ronald McDonald's House while children are treated at area medical centers.[22][23][24]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Rmhcofalbany.org
  2. ↑ "On Wings and Prayers". Philadelphia Daily News. December 21, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-12-24. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
  3. ↑ "Mission and Vision". Rmhc.org. Retrieved 2013-07-31.
  4. ↑ Published: October 15, 1992 (1992-10-15). "Gerald Newman, 61, McDonald's Executive - New York Times". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 2013-07-31.
  5. ↑ Rmhc.org
  6. ↑ Rmhc.org
  7. ↑ "What We Do". Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  8. ↑ "Houses". Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  9. ↑ "RMHC Quick Facts" (PDF). Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  10. ↑ "Family Rooms". Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  11. ↑ "RMHC Quick Facts" (PDF). Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  12. ↑ "Retreats". Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  13. ↑ "RMHC Quick Facts" (PDF). Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  14. ↑ "About Us". Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  15. ↑ "RMHC Charlie Bell Scholarship Program" (PDF).
  16. ↑ "RMHC Quick Facts" (PDF). Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  17. ↑ "Care Mobile". Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  18. ↑ "Cord Blood Banks". Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  19. ↑ "Worth Magazine Names America's 100 Best Charities - and Highlights 12 Worth Avoidng". Business Wire. 2001.
  20. ↑ "American's 100 Best Charities | Ashoka - Innovators for the Public". Ashoka. 2002-11-30. Retrieved 2013-07-31.
  21. ↑ "Rmhc-austin.org".
  22. ↑ Rhmc.org
  23. ↑ "Projects - Ronald McDonald House of Austin". Greenroofs.com. Retrieved 2013-07-31.
  24. ↑ "Show Us Your Money Maker: Ian McLagan". KUT.org. 2012-10-29. Retrieved 2013-07-31.

External links

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