fbpx


Making the extraordinary

ordinary.

The sick kids and their families who make
us their temporary home have enough challenges to overcome. So we go the extra mile to make sure everything else feels as ordinary as possible.

Why boring is better

Upcoming Events

The stories we share.

  • by Hunter Samuels

    Surprises. In some contexts, they’re exciting and fun, like a birthday party or an extra McNugget in your McDonald’s bag. Other surprises are less welcome. Like three McNuggets in your...

    read more
  • by Hunter Samuels

    Too often, our families have their lives disrupted by illness. Vacations are cancelled. Celebrations are postponed. Even something as simple as a playdate with friends requires a list of...

    read more
  • Jay Nelsen doing some gardening at the ronald mcdonald house
    by Hunter Samuels

    In order to provide our guest families with all that they need during their stay, we rely on more than just our staff members. The generous folks who...

    read more

Our Mission

Strengthening children and their families during their most difficult and challenging times

The mission of Ronald McDonald House Charities in Omaha (RMHC) is to create and operate programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children. We strive to do so by providing opportunities that strengthen children and families during their most difficult and challenging times.

The specific purpose of the RMHC is to support access to care, reduce financial burden, provide psychosocial support keeping families together, enhance clinical experiences and outcomes and help families resume normalcy.

Our superpower is making sure they don’t need one.

Why do we focus on keeping things so ordinary? Because the families we serve are normal folks facing abnormal situations – kids with medical issues that are sometimes rare, sometimes chronic, sometimes both. And they’re often hundreds of miles from home.

What they need is more than just a place to stay. They need laundry facilities, meals, help with schoolwork, places to hang out and watch movies or play games. They even need assistance with managing finances and keeping track of things back home. Oh, and if they’re here a while, most could use a haircut or two.

Finding all that on their own would just make a tough situation tougher. So we make sure it doesn’t.

By the numbers.

 

  • 1,236

    Number of Individuals Served

  • 30

    Average Length of Stay

  • 61%

    Of Families Served Are From Nebraska & Iowa

  • 7

    Average Patient Age

  • 394

    Total Number of Families Housed

  • 18

    Number of Programs Provided for Families

From our extraordinary guests.

“Just one hour of fun. One hour of laughing and giggling, and learning about their life and their past, and giving them hope, and them saying, ‘It’ll be okay.’ Absolutely no one knows if it’s going to be okay or not, but just to hear them say that is amazing.”

- Emily Webster, Grand Island, NE

During her stay, a local sorority came to the House and cooked dinner. “I don’t think they have any idea how happy I was to have pancakes and bacon. We couldn’t afford bacon. That’s the harsh reality of your kids being in the hospital: you can’t work. If you don’t work, you have no money. You have no place to stay. You have no food. Without the Ronald McDonald House, I literally don’t know what I would have done.”

- Kenzie Pasold, Norfolk, NE

“At the House, we feel like we’re not the only ones going through this.”

- Nick Everett, Beatrice, NE

“It helps me not keep everything bottled up inside. If I’m having a bad day, I can just talk to somebody. They’ll tell me, ‘You’re loved. You’re safe. You’re ok, and you’re going to get through this.’ And the parents are just living the same life we are. It doesn’t matter what kind of background we come from, or how much money we have or don’t have, we’re all the same.”

- Andrea Garrett, Sidney, NE

“You can just think about your kid. You don’t have to worry about dinner. You don’t have to worry about where you’re going to wash your clothes. You don’t have to worry about how much a hotel is going to cost on a given night.”

- April Albright, Wyoming

© McDonald’s Corporation The following trademarks used herein are owned by McDonald’s Corporation and its affiliates; McDonald’s, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Ronald McDonald House Charities Logo, RMHC, Ronald McDonald House, Ronald McDonald Family Room, and Ronald McDonald Care Mobile. RMHC is recognized as a public charity under Internal Revenue Code section 509(a) and has 501(c)(3) status. Donations to RMHC are deductible. Donors should consult their tax advisor for questions regarding deductibility. The RMHC in Omaha EIN is 47-0755104. A copy of the RMHC determination letter is available upon request. To request accessible versions of RMHC in Omaha financial documents, please email hsamuels@rmhcomaha.org.