Salt River Project has approved a $50,000 donation toward construction of a new Ronald McDonald House on the campus of Cardon Children’s Medical Center in Mesa. The new House will be the first in the East Valley and the third in the Phoenix metropolitan area.
The new 12,600 square foot Ronald McDonald House will be located in a renovated former residential facility adjacent to the hospital. The House will include 16 bedrooms, kitchen, common area, indoor dining room, two outdoor dining areas, work spaces and an outdoor play area.
The two operating Ronald McDonald Houses are located at 501 E. Roanoke Ave. and on the campus of Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
“For more than 100 years, water and power have been essential to SRP’s mission of building a strong Arizona. Equally important is our commitment to improving the communities where we work and live,” said SRP President David Rousseau. “We are proud to support Banner’s Cardon Children’s Hospital, which provides the East Valley and Arizona with access to quality pediatric care, as well as the Ronald McDonald House Charities as it provides vital services and comfort to families in times of great stress and crisis.”
The joint fundraising effort between Ronald McDonald House Charities and Banner Health Foundation has so far raised $1.22 million toward the $2.1 million goal and is expected to be completed by the end of the fourth quarter this year.
“Salt River Project is an important partner for the Ronald McDonald House in our effort to serve the East Valley, and we are incredibly grateful for this generous contribution to help meet our fund-raising goal,” said RMHC Executive Director Nancy Roach.
In 2012, more than 1,850 families stayed at the two Ronald McDonald Houses in Phoenix, nearly 90 percent from Arizona but also from 23 states and 11 countries. The average length of stay was 15 days.
The new House will be the first serving the East Valley. Families staying at Ronald McDonald Houses must live outside a 30-mile radius from the nearest House.
No one is ever turned away for not being able to pay the $15 nightly fee asked of families whose children are undergoing medical care in the Valley.
The cost for housing a family for one night is $51. In 2012, only 12% of families staying at a Ronald McDonald House in Phoenix were able to pay all or part of the fee. Community donations and contributions help cover the difference between the daily cost and the fee the House asks for those who can afford to pay.
For information about making a donation to the Ronald McDonald House capital campaign, contact Jerry Diaz, Director of Development, (602) 798-5092 or jdiaz@rmhcphoenix.com. For more information about Ronald McDonald Charities of Phoenix, visit www.rmhcphoenix.com.
