over 40 years strong
Ronald McDonald House Charities® of San Diego (“RMHC-SD”) provides a “home away from home” for families with children being treated for serious, often life-threatening conditions at local hospitals.
Early History
San Diego’s Ronald McDonald House was founded in 1980. From the very beginning, it’s been an independent, locally-run effort to keep families together when it matters most.
Our initial 8-bedroom House operated primarily as a bed and breakfast service for families with young cancer patients. Yet the population of Southern California was growing, and new pediatric treatments were appearing for a range of critical conditions. In 1989 we added four bedrooms to address this growing demand.
However, we were turning away a hundred families a month due to lack of space. Even with subsidized hotel stays, there was no way we could serve all of the families who so urgently needed to be near their hospitalized children.
In 2006, we seized a unique opportunity to build a much larger House. The location was unusual—the top deck of a parking structure—yet it was ideally located directly across from Rady Children’s Hospital. With great community support, we built our current facility, which opened in 2009. We the opened our Family Care Center to support families who are not staying with us overnight. Local families can take a break with us before returning to their child’s bedside. The Family Care Center offers hot meals, napping rooms, showers, computer access, play spaces, and much more during daytime hours.
This Silver LEED-certified building has 49 guest suites and a variety of shared living spaces, as well as peaceful courtyards and both indoor and outdoor play spaces. In addition, our original Ronald McDonald House has re-opened and now serves an additional eight families each night.
While parents must focus on the urgent needs of a hospitalized child, it’s not just hospitalized children who need attention. Healthy siblings need support, too. For this reason, we opened an onsite school in partnership with San Diego Unified School District, along with enrichment activities and “camp” during vacation periods. These programs help children continue to learn and grow while also being with their families at this critical time.
Ronald McDonald House Today
Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego continues to provide a place to stay, meals, and the necessities of home so families can focus on caring for their critically ill or injured child being treated at a San Diego-area hospital. Our House currently operates 57 total guest rooms. All rooms are occupied and there is typically a waiting list of up to 60 additional families each night who could benefit from our services. Through our Family Care Center we provide wi-fi, a gym, an onsite school, playground, and laundry facilities, while also serving free hot meals each year. Your participation in the 14th Hoehn Motors Luxury Car Raffle helps our Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego provide a home-away-from-home for thousands of families going through medical crisis each year.
From our House to yours, thank you for your support and consideration of San Diego Ronald McDonald House.
