Ronald McDonald House Charities of Western Washington supports families with seriously ill children undergoing medical treatment at Children’s Hospital by providing a caring home-away-from-home at the Seattle Ronald McDonald House and by operating a grants program benefiting children’s health-related nonprofits in Western Washington and Alaska.

More than a place to stay, RMHC meets families’ basic needs. Without our services, many families would not be able to afford housing close to the hospital.

Description:
Children being treated at Children’s Hospital, together with their families, stay at the Ronald McDonald House. Families who stay at the House are far from home and worried about their children. Most are struggling financially. By providing a supportive place to stay, we help keep families together during a very difficult time in their lives.

We ask families to pay a small nightly fee of $20 to stay at the House. However, only one in five families can afford to fully pay. No one is ever turned away due to an inability to pay.

We could not run the Seattle Ronald McDonald House without volunteers. Over 500 volunteers contribute nearly 20,000 hours of time each year to keep the House running. Our volunteers are the backbone of the charity and the heart and soul of our House. They provide services to our families, help keep our House clean and operating smoothly and play important roles in our major fund raising events.

History:
The Seattle Ronald McDonald House opened in 1983 and currently encompasses three buildings accommodating 80 families each night. We serve 1,500 families a year. We have 10 apartments specifically designed for pediatric bone marrow transplant patients. Most of the families we serve come from Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho.

Because of the world-renowned medical and research facilities in the Northwest, Seattle's Ronald McDonald House also serves families from around the country and the world who come to the Northwest seeking medical care for their children.

The concept of providing a home-away-from-home for families of children with cancer and other serious illnesses began in Philadelphia in 1973 when Fred Hill, an Eagles football player, learned that his daughter had leukemia. While at the hospital, he noticed many families from outside the region who were sleeping in the hospital because they couldn't afford the high costs of nearby apartments or hotels. Working with local McDonald's owners, he created the first Ronald McDonald House - affordable accommodations for the families of critically ill children.

Today, there are almost 260 Ronald McDonald Houses in 28 countries. While each House is as physically different as the city where it is located, each has the same goal--to make families feel less like strangers and more like friends in the midst of a difficult and frightening time.

Contact person: Judy Adams, Volunteer Manager, (phone), (email)
Office fax number: (206) 838-0625

Address:

5130 40th Ave. N.E. Seattle, WA 98105 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.rmhcseattle.org

Directions:

From I-5, merge on to the WA-520 E exit via exit number 168 B toward Bellevue/Kirkland. Take the Montlake Blvd. exit. Turn left on to Montlake Blvd. Stay right and Montlake turns into 45th Avenue N.E. follow. . . (more)

Miscellaneous Information

Liability
	Yes
Does your organization welcome court-ordered community service volunteers?
	No
Does your organization have volunteer positions for youth 12-18?
	Yes