Ronald McDonald House - Helping children and their families
The Ronald McDonald House (copyright protected) first opened in 1974 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Ronald McDonald House is a site where parents who have children in the hospital can stay overnight. They provide them with a temporary residence, more like a home away from home, while their children are being treated for a serious illness at nearby hospitals. They are more than 30,000 volunteers who help in these charities throughout the world. The majority of their funding comes from the general public either through individuals or corporate donors.
The McDonalds corporation has an important relationship with the Ronald McDonald House in that they provide use of their facilities at no cost, equipment, materials and other services. These help keep the costs down that the charity would have to have fundraising events to help
Today, you can find a Ronald McDonald House in 48 countries throughout the world. They also have other programs such as the Care Mobile which provides affordable health services and health education to children right in their local area along with the Family Room, which is a haven right within the hospital for families of children.
The Ronald McDonald House offers scholarships to students from communities who have limited access to educational resources and career opportunities. These scholarships are all part of the Ronald McDonald House and it’s constant commitment to education. It began this program in 1985 and committed $50,000 towards the first scholarships that were given through the Hispanic American Commitment to Education Resources program. To date, the Ronald McDonald House has awarded more than $19 million to students who are seniors in high school to help them attend college. The requirements for applying for this scholarship are that the student be a senior in high school, be eligible to attend a two year or four year college or university, reside in a participating local Chapter’s area and submit an application and all required documentation. Check the official Ronald McDonald House website at http://www.rmhc.com/ for deadlines to submit the applications.
The Ronald McDonald House is always looking for new volunteers or individuals who are willing to volunteer or donate goods or their services at their local chapters. Or, if you are just someone who is looking for information about certain program, you can contact one of the local houses in your area. These can also be found on the website. If you are interested in donating goods or want to do services on a national level, or just need information about one of the programs, you are asked to contact the Global Office. This information is also found on the website.