Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Antonio, Inc

Celebrating 40 Years of Keeping Families Close

Ronald McDonald House San Antonio is a place where comfort, care, and community are always within reach for families whose children are undergoing medical treatment. We offer families a comfortable and supportive place to stay, complete with private rooms, warm meals, laundry facilities, and the steady support of staff and volunteers. For forty years, this mission has been made possible by the generosity of our community and the dedication of individual donors who believe in keeping families close when it matters most.

Because of support like yours, what would otherwise cost thousands in lodging, meals, laundry, and daily essentials is provided completely free of charge. For forty years, this care has lifted a tremendous weight from parents’ shoulders, allowing them to focus on what matters most, caring for their child.

Inside our Houses, families find more than just a place to stay. They find a kitchen stocked with groceries, cozy living rooms to rest between hospital visits, laundry rooms with everything provided, and play spaces where children can simply be children, even if just for a moment. They also find connection with others walking similar paths and a network of compassion that wraps around them in some of their hardest days.

Your Big Give gift keeps these doors open. It ensures a bed is ready when a family arrives after a long day at the hospital. It fills the pantry so parents can grab a quick meal before heading back to their child’s side. It covers the stay for a family whose only focus should be their child’s healing. Every dollar directly sustains this mission, and during Big Give, your gift goes even further with special match opportunities.

This year, as we celebrate four decades of keeping families close, we invite you to be part of the story.

Give today, and help us make sure that no family has to choose between being together and getting the care their child needs.

Who We Are

On May 5, 1985, the first Ronald McDonald House opened in San Antonio and expanded to a 20 family home in 1991. On May 4, 1998, we became the sixth city in the United States to open the doors to a second 20 family home. On January 10, 2002 our third House was opened with accommodation for 10 families. This home is the first worldwide to be located within a hospital. Most recently, we have re-opened this house to a 16 bedroom home located on the 4th floor of Children’s Hospital of San Antonio due to expansion and renovation.
Why is it needed?
Often a child with a diagnosed disease lives far from the hospital. This creates an especially stressful situation for parents, as they must cope not only with a seriously ill child, but also with the burden of being away from home for days, weeks, and sometimes months.
Before the Ronald McDonald House, the only lodging alternatives were lonely and expensive hotel rooms, or hospital cots. Finding themselves in a strange city, away from the crucial support of friends and relatives, many parents found this to be a desperately unhappy experience– at a time when their child most needed their strength, and encouragement.
The Ronald McDonald House is a home for these families. The House gives them a place where they can break away from the hospital, yet be available at a moment’s notice. Just as important, it is a place where parents can meet and talk with other families who are experiencing some of the same fears and concerns and establish a mutual support system so critically needed at this time.