Could someone please explain to me about

[daligirrl]

"Ronald McDonald House"? I know that they get donations for it, but aren't they rich enough to do this on their own?"

[flamingyouth]

1. I lived near one for a few months in college

(Talk about having your own life put into perspective, let me tell you).

They do tremendous work. Once some friends and I got together and made dinner there in honor of my friend's birthday. We ate with them afterward, and it was an amazing experience.

[daligirrl]

5. Is it really a mostly McDonald's funded thing?

I am always somewhat skeptical when a very rich corporation asks for donations for a cause. I've seen these everywhere, and I know there is good work done, but I always wonder.

[daligirrl]

7. Thank you. . .

I am thinking about volunteering with some agencies here. . . We have a very active Ronald McDonald house. Several DU'er have alleviated many of my fears!

[pagerbear]

2. I doubt the donations are a substantial part of the budget

Those donation containers never look like they have more than a few dollars in them. I think it's advertising for their own good works.

[daligirrl]

6. I'm a little naive about this kind of thing. . .

I'm glad to hear such a positive response about it on DU. My professional organization contributes heavily to Ronald McDonald House, and I have always been kind of uncomfortable about it because I don't understand the mechanisms of big business and charity.

[RoeBear]

3. The more money people contribute...

...the more families that can be helped.

If McDonald's can afford to contribute 'X' amount of money and people
contribute an additional 'Y' amount it makes a difference.

[KC21304]

4. I don't think that would be possible.

McDonald's is a publicly traded company. You couldn't expect the stockholders to pay for upkeep on all of the Ronald McDonald houses.

I would think the Ronald McDonald houses are probably part of a separate non profit foundation.

[onecitizen]

8. I couldn't tell you where.........

they get their funding but I can tell you it's a wonderful program. I worked in a Level I trauma center for 15 years and we had many families who had trauma victims in our unit who used this service. These families were often poor, from far away and for them, this was a God-send.

I do know that on occasion, our hospital would have bake sales and etc. to help raise some money for them.