Ronald Mcdonald House Charities of Kentuckiana Inc

"If it was not for the Ronald McDonald House, staying here in Louisville and Caden getting his extensive outpatient rehab would not be an option…Thank you for your gift to the Ronald McDonald House…Words cannot describe the difference you have made for me and my son’s life.” – Christina Davis and Caden

In 1981, Christine Rounsavall was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. During Christine’s hospital stay, her parents, Jef and Hunt, observed many other parents of critically ill children, who had traveled far from home, taking over waiting rooms, sleeping in chairs and couches at the hospital, and even sharing their child's hospital bed.

These were families sleeping who wanted to be near their children, but didn't have an affordable place to call home away from home. Christine’s oncologist, Dr. Sal Bertolone, had the same observations and was interested in addressing this problem.

During that same period of Christine’s illness, Jef came across a Reader’s Digest article about an organization known as the Ronald McDonald House which had recently started in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Deciding that this was the type of organization that our community needed, Jef, Hunt and Dr. Bertolone went to work to establish a Ronald McDonald House in Louisville, Kentucky.

After years of fundraising and countless public awareness campaigns, the Kentuckiana community opened the Ronald McDonald House in Louisville on September 10, 1984. The building at 550 South First Street has grown to 36 private guestrooms in the last 29 years and on average, 1,800 families call us their home away from home every year.

The cost to provide our services is approximately $75 per night. No one is ever turned away for the inability to pay. In 2012, our families made average donations of $3 - $4 per night. We look to the community and friends of the Ronald McDonald House to maintain the services we provide for our families.

Today, your donation will help a family who finds out their child will be in the hospital overnight, for a week, for a month, or longer. Today, your donation will give families hope, comfort, and strength at a time when they need it the most. Today, your donation is a gift of togetherness.

Thank you so much for giving on this special day!

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