Imagine a world where every family has what they need to ensure the best health outcomes for their children. Since 1989, Ronald McDonald House Orange County (RMHOC) has been caring for families with children who are ill or injured. And while RMHOC may not be able to make the medicine taste better or erase the pain of a much-needed treatment, we can help lessen the burden for the families we serve. As a “home away from home,” programs of RMHOC provide a place for families and caretakers to rest and refresh as they focus on their child’s medical journey. In addition to the House in Orange, CA, two Ronald McDonald Family Room® programs are available to families directly on the hospital floor at CHOC in Orange and CHOC at Mission.
The History of Ronald McDonald House Charities®
Anyone who has ever waited for a loved one in the hospital can get a glimpse of what a family may be feeling when they have traveled miles from home to stand vigil for hours, days, weeks, and even months while their child receives treatment. So, imagine what former Philadelphia Eagles football player Fred Hill and his wife, Fran, went through in 1974 when their three-year-old daughter Kim was being treated for cancer. The Hills camped out on hospital benches, sat in cramped waiting rooms and paced the halls for more than three years during Kim's treatments. Through the years, they saw families experiencing the same stress and tension over their child's illness.
With the support of Fred’s teammates and then Eagles’ general manager Jim Murray, the Hills raised funds towards a solution. Murray connected the Hills with Dr. Audrey Evans, head of pediatric oncology at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Evans dreamed of a comfortable, temporary residence for families with children being treated at her hospital.
To make this dream a reality, Murray enlisted Don Tuckerman from the local McDonald's advertising agency, who, with the support of McDonald's Regional Manager Ed Rensi, launched the St. Patrick's Day Green Milkshake (dubbed the “Shamrock Shake”) promotion. With Fred’s Eagles’ teammates helping to promote the new shake, the additional funds raised helped to purchase an old house located near CHOP. Opening its doors in 1974, this became the first Ronald McDonald House®, marking the beginning of Ronald McDonald House Charities® (RMHC), a now global charity in over 60 countries and regions.
Our History in Orange County
In the early 1980s, another man found himself trying to curl up on a chair, stretch out on a hard bench and grab a quick snooze in his truck while he waited for his child in the hospital. That is, until a security guard forced him back into the hubbub and thick smells of the hospital. It would be three years, three months and six days before Ron Van Winkle would end the vigil for his son Patrick, who began his successful treatment for cancer at the age of nine.
Understanding the need for care, it didn't take much convincing by Dr. Geni Bennetts to get Van Winkle onto the first board of trustees for a Ronald McDonald House in Orange County. She invited him and about a half dozen other parents of children with cancer to dinner. When it was over, they were committed to finding a way towards a Ronald McDonald House; their plan was to secure two lots across the street from Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) - one vacant and the other with a small house on it.
The newly formed board took on the challenge to meet the high standards set by RMHC for a new Ronald McDonald House. They negotiated to purchase the land and worked with the architect to design a 20-bedroom house that was warm and inviting. It would have no sharp angles, rather rounded corners, even rounded edges on the fireplace mantel. It would have soft, soothing colors, and it would have lots of sound insulation to provide a quiet place in which families might relax, reflect and be rejuvenated. The board also established a goal of having the House completely paid for by the time it opened, and they did just that.
In November 1989, the doors of Ronald McDonald House Orange County officially opened. Since that time, it has changed from caring for families with almost all cancer-related stays to about an even split between families with children who need cancer treatments and those that need neonatal care, which together account for about 70% of those who stay at the House.
With over 30 years of caring for families, the need for support continued to grow. In 2019, a capital campaign was launched to “double the love, double the House.” Over $15 million was raised to expand RMHOC from 20 rooms to 44.
Ronald McDonald House Orange County is a program of Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Southern California.
