This Giving Tuesday, we are asking for your support to provide more families with ill children a place to call home while they are far from home, getting the medical care they need.

Did you know, the average length of time a family stays at our Ronald McDonald House is 16 nights? No matter the length of time, our Houses are there for families in their moment of need.

Earlier this year, Emma-Leigh's family traveled from Maine to Connecticut seeking medical care for her illnesses. Emma-Leigh is 16 years old and has spent years suffering from multiple health issues. Her family stayed at our Ronald McDonald House for two weeks, post surgery for a condition called MALS. Her mom Sarah shared, "The RMH was a saving grace for us. I know with COVID restrictions, things have been very different....but still, it was so comfortable staying here and being able to cook our own food and do our own laundry..."

"...I have always described the RMH as a home away from home. A cheesy phrase, but it's true. A place you can be yourself, walk around in your jammies and people just care about each other. If we didn't have RMH as an option for us, I hate to think what our alternative would have been. Probably a very cheap, unsafe motel, which is no place for a healthy child, much less a sick child who just had major surgery. We will always be grateful for the RMH."

In addition to providing a welcome, home environment to Emma-Leigh and her family this year, our two Houses, RMH of Connecticut and RMH of Springfield, have been home to more than 140 families.

Help us provide more families their "home away from home" by donating to cover the cost of the average family's length of stay. 16 nights with Ronald McDonald House Charities of CT and Western MA can mean all the difference to one of these families.