On October 15, RMHC® (Ronald McDonald House Charities®) Chapters around the world share our mission and grow awareness of our largest on-going fundraiser – RMHC Donation Boxes in McDonald’s® restaurants. On this “Day of Change,” we observe the anniversary of the charity by encouraging you to visit Central Ohio McDonald’s restaurants and drop your spare change in our Donation Boxes. We will also use this day to thank restaurant employees and share how their reminders to customers that their change can support families and children going through a rough time.
The very first Ronald McDonald House® opened in Philadelphia, PA on October 15, 1974. Today, there are over 364 Ronald McDonald Houses and over 237 Ronald McDonald Family Rooms around the world where families with sick children can stay close when they must travel far for their child’s medical care. Our House is the largest among them and we now have our first Ronald McDonald Family Room at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital.
As our founding mission partner, McDonald’s is committed to using their scale for good, and a great example of this is the impact from Donation Boxes in restaurants around the world. Last year, over $52 Million was donated to RMHC by McDonald’s customers through Donation Boxes alone. This allowed Chapters to provide approximately 650,000 overnight stays to families, as well as provide them meals, comfort and support. Locally, we were able to provide 2,175 overnight stays from more than $174,000 in your spare change that we received in Donation Boxes last year!
Thank you for thinking of our families each time you go up to the counter or go through a drive-thru at a McDonald’s restaurant in Central Ohio and drop your spare change in our donations boxes. Our families are grateful for your consideration.