Ronald McDonald House: Difference between revisions
(New page: The '''Birmingham Ronald McDonald House''' is a temporary housing facility for the families of patients at Children's Hospital. The facility is owned and operated by '''Ronald McDonald...) |
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==References== | ==References== | ||
* Seale, Kathy (June 19, 2007) "A new home away from home." ''Birmingham News''. | * Seale, Kathy (June 19, 2007) "A new home away from home." ''Birmingham News''. | ||
==External links== | |||
* [http://www.rmhca.org/ Ronald McDonald House Charities of Alabama[ website | |||
[[Category:Nonprofits]] | [[Category:Nonprofits]] | ||
Revision as of 13:30, 21 June 2007
The Birmingham Ronald McDonald House is a temporary housing facility for the families of patients at Children's Hospital. The facility is owned and operated by Ronald McDonald House Charities of Alabama (RMHCA), a locally-governed chapter of Ronald McDonald House Charities, headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. RMHC Global and McDonald's restaurants provide partial funding for the facility's operations while private contributions, grants and program-related income provide the rest of the budget. The executive director is Mike Singer.
The Birmingham Ronald McDonald house was the fifth of over 250 such facilities now in operation worldwide. It opened in 1979 at 920 17th Street South and incorporated two buildings built in the 1920s and 1950s. The facility was expanded and upgraded in 1992, but remained too small, too distant, and too costly to maintain to adequately support the facility's mission. A formal facility evaluation in 2003 confirmed those findings.
Soon later the RMHCA announced plans to construct a new, larger facility at the corner of 4th Avenue South and 17th Street, closer to Children's Hospital. A $400,000 challenge grant from the Kresge Foundation helped kick-start a fund-raising campaign led by Alan Lott and Todd Sharley. Honorary co-chairs of the campaign were AmSouth Bank CEO C. Dowd Ritter and his wife Susan.
The Birmingham-area premiere of the 2003 film Big Fish was held on December 13 at the Summit 16 Cinema as a fund-raiser for the Ronald McDonald House.
The new $7 million building encloses 33,000 square feet in which are arranged 41 guest rooms, many with private baths and kitchens as well as community rooms and play areas. The new building is more accessible to disabled guests and has more space for administrative, meeting, storage and dining areas. The building was designed by Williams-Blackstock Architects
References
- Seale, Kathy (June 19, 2007) "A new home away from home." Birmingham News.
External links
- [http://www.rmhca.org/ Ronald McDonald House Charities of Alabama[ website