Ronald McDonald Fundation

You’re setting off around Poland by bicycle, while some parents have to set off with their children to the hospital instead of vacation. It's a completely different journey than yours. Parents sometimes travel several hundred kilometers to the place where their children will be treated. Distance is not only a matter of time, means of transportation and cost, but also a huge mental and physical burden. A long stay in the hospital is a dilemma for parents - who to leave their other children at home with? Ronald McDonald House Charities offer their help, which includes the support for families experiencing a child's illness and long hospitalization away from home. Above all, the Houses give families closeness, whereby the whole family can be together while the child is being treated in the hospital.

The Foundation builds Houses in the immediate vicinity of children's hospitals, which is the most important program of the Ronald McDonald Foundation, known to parents around the world. The Houses help with a warm shower after a late return from the hospital, a comfortable bed that gives a good night's sleep, a kitchen and a warm meal, coffee brewed at 6 in the morning or at 8 in the evening when a parent goes to see the child in the hospital.

The House in Krakow has been operating since 2015 and has already helped 548 families, while the House in Warsaw recently celebrated its first anniversary of operation. During that time, they’ve helped 139 families.

You can easily help support either of these Houses by making a donation to the piggy bank you'll find at the cash register at any McDonalds Poland restaurant. The Houses offer their help free of charge.