CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — When kids are being treated at Driscoll Children's Hospital, Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) is there to house families who may have traveled a long way from home.
The charity just received a large donation to expand the number of families they can serve.
The Dobson Family Foundation recently gave RMHC a donation in the amount of $1.5M which is designated for the building of a new Ronald McDonald House. The charity will be able to expands its housing capacity by 70 percent when the new house is built.
“We are grateful and humbled to receive this significant and meaningful grant from the Dobson Family Foundations,” said Michelle Horine, CEO of Ronald McDonald House Charities South Texas. “Every day we get requests for a room that we cannot accommodate. It is heartbreaking to be an organization that helps people but must turn so many away who have few or no other options due to a maxed occupancy. Today’s donation ensures that we are on the path of being able to provide a home away from home to all those who need us.”
The new Ronald McDonald House will be built on the existing land owned by the charity. This allows families in need to be able to take a short walk to the hospital where their child is being treated. The new House will provide over 40 expanded rooms, a large family kitchen with extended pod kitchens, playroom, teen room, media, and learning rooms, RMHC officials said.
Ronald McDonald House Charities South Texas opened on February 10, 1990, with enough room to accommodate 16 families. Since then, the charity has grown to serve 25 families each night.