The Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House, a home-away-from-home for families of children hospitalized for cancer and other serious illnesses, opened a newly-built auxiliary property on Lyman Place, a half block from its original Fountain Avenue location. Together, the two buildings can provide low cost, often free, lodging to 75-families per night; an increase from the previously accommodated 35-families nightly.
Conveniently situated near Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and more than 22 other hospitals and medical centers, the Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House at Lyman Place features hotel-style bedrooms with flat-screen televisions in every room. Other amenities include a fully-stocked kitchen, a state-of-the-art theatre and fitness center, a recreation area, computer room, and laundry facilities. Because many patients staying at the Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House are highly susceptible to infections, each room in the new property is equipped with individual ventilation and air conditioning systems.
“The completion of the Lyman Place building is truly a joyous occasion and dream come true for all who have been involved with and contributed to this project over the past eight years,” said Vince Bryson, executive director, Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House. “The satisfaction that comes with knowing that more families can receive the services the Ronald McDonald House provides, just minutes from the bedsides of their sick children, is beyond measure.”
Care for seriously ill children is the specialty of only a few medical institutions throughout the Southern California region. The availability of Ronald McDonald Houses in close proximity to these medical institutions helps alleviate some of the financial burden and emotional stress families would have to endure by sleeping on cots at the hospital or incurring the additional expense of finding a nearby hotel. Additionally, Ronald McDonald Houses provide families with the added comfort of being surrounded by those who understand and can relate to the ordeal of having an ill child.
“We live 180 miles away from here…I don’t know where I would go if the Ronald McDonald House did not exist,” said Rebecca Martinez, a Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House resident. “If I need to shower or just take a break the House is here. It helps a lot that I can be close to my daughter.”
The Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House was built in 1980 and was the third Ronald McDonald House chartered in the world. Since its inception, the House has served more than 20,000 families from more than 40 countries.
Funds to maintain and operate the non-profit Ronald McDonald House are raised through the efforts of the Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House board of trustees. The House has received significant support from the national and Southern California chapters of Ronald McDonald House Charities, the McDonald’s® Operators’ Association of Southern California, McDonald’s Corporation, as well as various local corporations, foundations, small businesses and individuals.
The Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House is a program of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California. Now celebrating 30 years of helping children and families in need, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California is committed to improving the health and well-being of children throughout the Southland. Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California also operates Ronald McDonald Houses in Loma Linda, Orange, Pasadena, and plans are underway for a fifth House in Long Beach.
The Charity also operates Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times, a Community Grants Board and four scholarship programs. Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times provides free sleep-away camp experiences for kids with cancer and their families. The Community Grants Board has awarded more than 600 grants totaling more than $14 million to Southern California organizations that directly benefit children. The four scholarship programs have awarded more than $2.7 million in college scholarships to deserving high school seniors since 1990.
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