What began as one family’s misfortune became good fortune for millions of families worldwide.
In 1974, Kim Hill, the 3-year old daughter of Philadelphia Eagles tight end Fred Hill, was diagnosed with leukemia. During Kim’s three years of treatment, Fred and his wife Fran often camped out on hospital chairs and benches and ate makeshift meals out of vending machines. The Hills watched other parents around them doing the same thing. They learned that many of the families traveled great distances to bring their children to the hospital but couldn’t afford hotel rooms.
The Hills began to think that there had to be a solution. Fred rallied the support of his Eagles teammates to raise funds and help other families experiencing the same emotional and financial traumas as his own. Through Jim Murray, the Eagles’ general manager, the team offered its support to Dr. Audrey Evans, head of the pediatric oncology unit at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Evans dreamed of a home-like temporary residence for families of children being treated at her hospital.
So they found a better way, and together, they created the first Ronald McDonald House.
Each local Ronald McDonald House is a separate public charity, operated by a local Board of Directors.
In the summer of 1992, Gray Zimlich and her 10-year-old son, Day, moved into the Ronald McDonald House of Boston where Day wound undergo experimental treatment for an inoperative brain tumor. Day later described his stay at Ronald McDonald House as the “best vacation I ever had!” and asked why there wasn’t a Ronald McDonald House in Mobile.
Eight years later, in 2000, Day Zimlich and other dignitaries cut the ribbon on a 12-guest room Ronald McDonald House Mobile. In 2008, the Board of Directors, including founding Board member Gray Zimlich, began raising funds to add 26 more guest rooms, and in 2011 the expanded House opened to families.
In 2014, Ronald McDonald House Mobile opened two Ronald McDonald House Family Rooms inside USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital, giving all families with a child in the hospital a place to rest and recharge outside of their child’s hospital room.
Caring for families with children who are ill or injured.
A world where every family has what they need to ensure the best health outcomes for their children.
We provide essential services that remove barriers, strengthen families and promote healing when children need healthcare.
