At Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Washington, DC, we owe our continued success to the tireless work of volunteers and the countless contributions from our donors. Because of you, we’ve been helping improve the lives of children and their families for 33 years.
Here are some of the historic milestones that donors like you have made possible.
1974
- The first Ronald McDonald House opens in Philadelphia thanks to Dr. Audrey Evans, Philadelphia Eagles’ player Fred Hill (whose daughter, Kim, had leukemia), Leonard Tose, owner of the Eagles, Jim Murray, the Eagles’ general manager and Ed Rensi, the McDonald’s regional manager.
- The McDonald’s owner/operators in Philadelphia made the House possible, donating proceeds from the sale of Shamrock Shakes.
1980
- The original DC Ronald McDonald House opened it’s doors in June of 1980, and was the sixteenth House to open in the six years since the program began.
1994
- RMHC of Greater Washington, D.C. opens a Family Room at Children’s National Medical Center (CNMC) in Washington, DC
1998
- Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Washington, DC opens it’s second House on the campus of Fairfax INOVA Hospital.
2002
- Worth magazine names RMHC one of “America’s 100 Best Charities of 2002.” It’s the second consecutive year RMHC receives this honor.
2004
- RMHC of Greater Washington, DC puts their first Care Mobile on the road in District Wards 5-8.
2006
- Capital Campaign was launched to raise funds to build the new House located on 14th Street NE.
2008
- RMHC of Greater Washington, DC opens a larger, renovated Family Room at CNMC.
2011
- RMHC of Greater Washington, DC unveils a brand new Ronald McDonald House in Washington, DC with 25 rooms and 4 special isolation suites for children with compromised immune systems. Over thirty years the Quincey House was a home-away-from-home for more than 14,000 families of critically ill children. Although the nearly one hundred-year-old Spanish colonial had served our purposes well, it no longer met the space or functional needs of our growing number of families.
- Kim Hill, the girl who inspired the first Ronald McDonald House, passed away at the age of 44.