All families want to be close to their children as they receive life-saving treatment, but that’s not always possible. Thanks to Ronald McDonald House, thousands of families have been helped. However, approximately 200 hundred per month have been turned away due to lack of rooms available. The House ensures families have a warm, caring, and safe place to rest, recover from the day, and prepare for the next. Undergoing the most devastating time in their lives, patients and their families in the area are eligible for services provided by the House and its volunteers. The LLRMH is a home away from home for these families in critical need, allowing them to stay close together and bringing a sense of normalcy back into their lives. For nearly a decade, the LLRMH has been operating at 150 percent monthly capacity. Therefore, a hotel program was instituted. Since 1996, the House has been a home for more than 20,000 families of critically ill and injured children being treated at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital and other nearby hospitals. LLRMH Board of Directors voted to begin the House's much needed expansion program, but the Board faced another tough decision: it had to cease its hotel program, whereby the LLRMH would place families in nearby hotels for the duration of their medical care when the Ronald McDonald House was at capacity. "We realized that (the hotel program) was a band-aid on the problem, and we made the very difficult decision to cut the hotel program," said Derek Hanson, Loma Linda Ronald McDonald Board President. "But, with that, we said we were going to expand. We were going to make this happen and we were going to raise the funds to do that." The expansion will allow the House to serve nearly 7,500 more individuals every year. After planning and preparation, LLRMH has raised $8.8 million of their total $12 million goal, which is 74 percent raised, with $3.2 million left to obtain. The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, the McDonald's Owner-Operator Association of Southern California, and many other major donors have already helped contribute to the expansion. The LLRMH is asking the public for help as the House strives to provide more space for families who need to stay closer to their children while they receive intensive care for catastrophic illnesses. The "Growing To Meet The Need" campaign from Sept. 7 through Oct. 26. is funded in part from matched funds. Simply put - any donations by the public will be matched, creating double the impact. The challenge is to reach $50,000 in 50 days. If LLRMH raises this $50,000 goal amount during the campaign, they will receive another $50,000 in funding. This expansion is one small step toward reaching the needs of the entire community and all of the families who want to be close to their children as they receive life saving treatment. The 29,000-square-foot expansion will include an additional 33 guest rooms, a larger kitchen, dining room, and new common and play areas. The LLRMH hopes the public will join them in their "Growing To Meet The Need" campaign to help reach their $50,000 goal, by visiting their fundraising site: www.classy.org/50Kin50days. “Give what you can. Your funds will be matched,” said Margie Miller, Loma Linda Ronald McDonald Board Member. The public is also invited to join the ceremonial groundbreaking that is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 13, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at LLRMH, on 11365 Anderson Street in Loma Linda.

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