Image source

12pm Thursday 3 – 12pm Friday 4 June, 2021

Ronald McDonald House Charities Victoria & Tasmania – which operates the Ronald McDonald Houses at Monash, Fitzroy North and Parkville in Melbourne and in Hobart, Tasmania – is calling on the public to open their hearts and wallets for seriously sick kids and their families this Matched Giving Day Appeal from 12pm on Thursday 3 June until 12pm on Friday 4 June, 2021.

All donations made to Ronald McDonald House Charities Victoria & Tasmania (RMHC VIC & TAS) during the 24-hour Matched Giving Day Appeal will be doubled, thanks to generous corporate supporters of the charity, which marks its 35th Anniversary this year and has helped over 500,000 sick kids and families across Tasmania and Victoria.

“We’re aiming for the Stronger Together Appeal to be our largest ever single day fundraiser” said Peter Bishop, RMHC VIC & TAS CEO. “Families tell us that they can’t imagine what they would have done without Ronald McDonald House. We’ve been supporting families from across Australia for nearly 35 years and funds raised on the day will ensure that this vital, family centred care will continue long into the future.”

RMHC VIC & TAS operates three Houses in Melbourne:

• Ronald McDonald House Parkville is situated next door to the Royal Children’s Hospital and gives seriously ill children the best gift of all – their families.
• Ronald McDonald House North Fitzroy caters to the growing need for regional, rural and interstate families to have access to safe and reliable accommodation in central Melbourne while their child undergoes treatment in the city.
• Ronald McDonald House Monash on the grounds of Monash Children’s Hospital provides the whole family with a comfortable place to stay and peace of mind, knowing they can stay together next to the hospital.

The Melbourne Ronald McDonald Houses have provided a home-away-from-home for more than 440,000 seriously sick kids and families since its inception in 1986.

The Ronald McDonald House Hobart is situated right across the road from the Royal Hobart Hospital so parents are never more than minutes away from their child’s bedside and has provided a home-away-from-home for more than 60, 000 seriously sick kids and families since its inception in 1998.

‍

RMHC VIC & TAS specialises in supporting families who need to travel long distances from home to receive specialist medical care.

Sometimes these families find themselves facing financial ruin due to missed work and the cost of care required for their children and almost always, they find themselves in an exceptionally difficult state – emotionally, mentally and physically.

It costs RMHC Victoria and Tasmania $160 per night to support each family staying at one of the Houses.

There is no charge to the families who need this support; accommodation is absolutely free of charge to these families.

In the traditional sense, a night would simply refer to a roof over someone’s head for the night, but at RMHC VIC & TAS, a night means so much more to families in need of support.

A night for families at one of the Ronald McDonald Houses in Tasmania and Victoria means:

• They have an on-site network of families, staff and volunteers who understand what they’re going through
• They’re within a 5-minute walk to their sick children in hospital and within the hospital, they have access to the RMH Family Room – a place to recharge and find respite away from the clinical environment of a ward
• A stocked kitchen and regular access to home-made cooked meals
• Access to in-house education support by qualified teachers and 40 hours of free tuition when the patient returns home
• Freedom from financial pressures via this home-away-from-home so families can focus on their sick children

RMHC VIC & TAS’s goal for the Stronger Together Appeal is to raise enough funds for 1,500 nights of accommodation at one of the Ronald McDonald Houses.

To donate, visit www.strongertogtherappeal.com.au or call 03 9966 8420 during the 24 hours of the Appeal, from 12pm on Thursday 3 June – 12pm on Friday 4 June, 2021.

‍