How You're Helping

Unfortunately due to their child's injury or serious illness, over 60,000 families will use Ronald McDonald House Charities services each year.

JOIN US TO SUPPORT THEM

18 Houses Across Australia

Located close to most major children's hospitals, Ronald McDonald Houses provide a warm, safe, home-away-from-home when seriously ill or injured children require specialist care and treatment far from their home towns in regional and rural Australia.

By fundraising for RMHC, you'll help provide valuable family-centered care that plays an important role for families while their child receives treatment. Your support will help to provide much needed financial, emotional and practical support that reduces the stress and costs to families while improving their ability to cope.

Other RMHC Programs

Meet Elijah

At just 14 years old, Elijah was involved in a terrible sky-diving accident that left him wheelchair-bound. In the years since, he’s had to relearn how to walk, talk and act like a regular teenager. 

Throughout his recovery, Elijah and his family have spent over 350 nights at Ronald McDonald House.

"Ronald McDonald House has been our saviour. It is truly the most incredible charity and we couldn’t imagine getting through our journey without it”

- Elijah's mum, Robyn

Register Your Interest Today

By joining Dance for Sick Kids, you're making an everlasting impact on the lives of seriously ill children and their families. Thank you!

Count Me In!

Impact

A global research team* worked with RMHC to evaluate the impact of our House Program on families around the world. The following is a summary of those findings**.

Access to the best care

Our House Program makes it possible for families who travel long distances, to access the top children’s hospitals around the world.

Stronger mental health

Having a child in hospital can trigger clinical anxiety in parents. Our Houses provide families with the emotional, mental and practical support to better manage their stress, so that they can be more actively involved in the care of their children.

Financial peace of mind

Ongoing medical bills, travel and accommodation costs are a huge source of stress for many families. Our Houses offer accommodation at no cost, close to hospitals, to alleviate some of the burden.

Parents sleep better

Parents who sleep at one of our Houses have a better night’s rest than those that sleep at their child’s hospital bedside. This ensures they have the strength to support their child.

Children’s recovery

Having family and siblings close by, who are invested in a child’s care, can improve a hospitalised child’s recovery and treatment outcomes.

Positive hospital experience

Families who stay at a Ronald McDonald House find they have a more positive experience of hospital than those that stay elsewhere.

Families cope better

Having family together under one roof, including the support of experienced volunteers and other families, greatly improves a family’s ability to cope with having a child in hospital.

Safe, affordable alternative to hospital

Many high-risk pregnant women who are stable but need to be close to care, can now afford to stay close to care. This is also the case for parents who have a newborn in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

Siblings cope better

Play is how children interact and make sense of the world. That’s why play areas are such an important part of our offering. They allow siblings to connect and cope more with the stress of a difficult situation.

* The global team of researchers was drawn from leading universities, including the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), George Washington University, the University of Chicago, as well as from top medical centres in Hong Kong; Sydney, Australia; the United Kingdom; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Cincinnati, U.S.; and Toronto, Canada.

** Findings taken from RMHC Impact Research – the name for a suite of studies on the impact of RMHC around the world. The summaries provided here provide a snapshot of the findings from each of the key Ronald McDonald House Impact studies.

Other Ronald McDonald House Programs

19 Family Rooms

Our Family Rooms are located inside the hospital and close to the children’s wards. They give families a chance to recharge after many stressful hours at their child’s side. Each Family Room is equipped with areas to rest, eat, freshen up, play and relax.

5 Family Retreats

Our Family Retreats give families a chance to forget the stresses of hospital life. They’re open to families with a seriously ill child, or those grieving the loss of a child.

1 Care Mobile

Our Care Mobile brings care to children in remote and rural NSW, in partnership with Royal Far West. It ensures distance isn’t a barrier to receiving assessments and early intervention services for children in these areas.

Learning Program (1,200 students/week)

Extended stays in hospital or receiving medical treatment means kids miss school. Our tailored one-to-one tuition help kids catch up on schoolwork so that they feel confident as they transition back to school. Our Learning Program also offers professional development for educators. EDMed™ provides teachers with information about the potential impacts of a serious or chronic illness, as well as educational strategies to support the needs of these students impacted by a serious or chronic illness.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about Dance for Sick Kids or need a hand with anything, please reach out. We're here to help!
Click Here to register your interest for Dance for Sick Kids 2022.

Dance for Sick Kids Team

Call us on 0478 062 102 or

email danceforsickkids@rmhc.org.au

Partnership Opportunities

Contact us to discuss partner and sponsorship opportunities

Call Rachel on 0478 062 102 or

email rachel.jamieson@rmhc.org.au  

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CONTACT THE DANCE FOR SICK KIDS TEAM

If you have any questions about Dance for Sick Kids or need a hand with anything, please reach out. We're here to help!