On Aug. 27, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Florida (RMHCCF) announced their plan to begin expansion on the third floor of their Ronald McDonald House. Five days before that release was sent out, a global bio-pharmaceutical company, called AbbVie, made a donation of $100 million to Ronald McDonald House Charities. Their donation was able to provide the Central Florida chapter with $1.38 million. According to a press release sent out by Ronald McDonald House Charities and AbbVie, this is “the largest single donation in both AbbVie and Ronald McDonald House Charities’ history.”
When the Ronald McDonald House was built in Lake Nona in 2016, a third floor was included in the building plan. However, only the first two floors were fully completed, and the third was to be completed at a later date when the demand required such an expansion. RMHCCF said that their research showed they needed at least 10 extra rooms added in order to serve the families and children who were being taken care of. Thanks to the AbbVie contribution, their goal will be attained.
As for RMHC as a whole, the press release stated, “The donation will be used to build family-centered spaces and more than 600 new guest sleeping rooms in at least 26 states and at 32 Ronald McDonald Houses. This will allow for approximately 230,000 additional night stays for pediatric patients and their families each year.” President and CEO of RMHCCF, Lou Ann DeVoogd, said she’s elated and that it really did provide them an opportunity to move forward faster than they expected.
At the press conference held at the RMH in Medical City, the Wilford family had the opportunity to express their gratitude for the donation. Jena Wilford, 37, said that she and her two children live in Georgia. They make the drive all the way to Orlando for the care that they receive at Nemours Children’s Hospital. Her daughter, 13, and her son, 16, are both patients. Wilford said that Nemours is the closest hospital that can offer her daughter a full pain management program that will eventually take her off of medication. She is very thankful for the expansion. She and her family will no longer have to drive back and forth from Georgia to Orlando. Wilford added, “The community here, compared to other RMHs we’ve stayed at, they have breakfast, lunch and dinner and activities to participate in. … There really is a need for people to provide meals here.”
Even though more than $1 million was donated to the Central Florida chapter, they still need $600,000 to complete the project before December 2019. There are commemorative funding opportunities available. These donor opportunities range from a bedroom that is a $35,000 donation per room to the sitting room which is a $25,000 donation. The chief operating officer at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Randy Hartley, said the third floor should be completed by 2020. For more information on RMHCCF and donation opportunities, go to www.rmhccf.org.
