Proceeds from every menu item purchased on May 8th go to supporting the hundreds of families using Ronald McDonald Houses across the country and other local children’s charities.
The Devries never expected to be using the Ronald McDonald House.
The St. Catharines family, parents Stephanie and Peter, and siblings William and Darcy welcomed a new baby girl, Fiona, late last month.
However, after Fiona was born, doctors quickly discovered she had a heart issue, and was immediately taken to McMaster Children’s Hospital, where she currently remains in the neonatal intensive care unit.
At the nearby Ronald McDonald House of South Central Ontario, the family found a little slice of calm in an otherwise fraught time.
The Devries family is one of the more than 425,000 families Canada-wide, who have been supported since the first Ronald McDonald House opened in 1981.
Mario Dedevitis is the CEO of the charity’s South Central chapter and says the goal is to provide a home-away-from-home close to medical care that a family’s child is receiving.
“You could cook a dinner here. We give you the space to do that. There is a gym here to go work out. If you want to take your son or daughter to a movie, we have a movie theatre here. And to do all of that and know that you don’t have to go broke because you have a sick child, is incredible for them,” Dedevitis says.
President of McMaster Children’s Hospital, Bruce Squires, says families at the hospital are often going through the most traumatic times in their lives, and having a space close by like the Ronald McDonald House can make all the difference.
In addition to 16 Ronald McDonald Houses, Mcdonald’s also supports dozens of family rooms at hospitals across Canada, including at McMaster Children’s Hospital and a brand new space at the St. Catharines General Hospital opening later this summer.