If you aren’t sure what Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Florida does, just visit one of their three houses in Orlando located by the hospital campus of Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, Florida Hospital for Children, or Nemours Children’s Hospital. You’ll immediately feel love, compassion, and support.
Many families travel far from home and spend several weeks or months to get treatment for their seriously ill or injured children – a long time to be away or to divide a family. And, for children facing a serious medical crisis, nothing seems scarier than not having mom and dad close by for love and support. A Ronald McDonald House provides a place for families to call home so they can stay close by their hospitalized child at little to no cost.
Ronald McDonald Houses are built on the simple idea that nothing else should matter when a family is focused on the health of their child – not where they can afford to stay, where they will get their next meal or where they will lay their head at night to rest. We believe that when a child is hospitalized the love and support of family is as powerful as the strongest medicine prescribed.
Allow Families to Face the Weight of Illness Together
Families are stronger when they are together. By staying at a Ronald McDonald House, parents can better communicate with their child’s medical team and keep up with complicated treatment plans when needed. They can also focus on the health of their child, rather than grocery shopping, cleaning or cooking meals.
Allow Children to Get the Best Care
When your child is sick, you want the best care possible – even if it is hundreds or thousands of miles away. The Ronald McDonald House allows families to access specialized medical treatment by providing a place to stay at little or sometimes no cost.
Services for Families
At every House, families can enjoy:
Home-cooked meals
Private bedrooms
Playrooms for children
Depending on the House, these services may also be available:
Special suites for children with suppressed immune systems
Accredited education programs
Recreational activities
Non-clinical support services
Sibling support services
The generosity of volunteers and donors make it all possible. In return, guest families are asked to make a donation for each night’s stay to help continue operations for future guest families. No eligible family is ever turned away or denied future access to the program because they could not or did not make a donation.
“Ronald McDonald House Charities has touched upon the lives of many in the Central Florida Community, said Michelle Delaney, a charter member of Beta Theta. “The impact that RMH made in the community hit home when my family needed help and Ronald McDonald House provided the support needed to get us through a difficult time. We were blessed to have Ronald McDonald House in our lives. As a member of Beta Theta-ESA, I am proud that my organization supports RMH through money raised by our annual signature fundraiser, Mardi Gras”.
Beta Theta-ESA will be holding its 16th Annual Mardi Gras on Saturday, March 14 at Clermont Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $50 pp. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, purchasing tickets or donating an item for the silent auction, contact Michelle Delaney at 407-230-7206; news@SLTABLET.com; or chairperson Janice Senninger at 407-256-3219.
