Ronald McDonald House
Providing the gift of togetherness
What We Do
Our House is where the little things make the biggest difference.
At Ronald McDonald House Charities in Omaha, we know that oftentimes, it’s the little things that provide the most comfort. A hot cup of coffee in the morning. The smell of clean laundry. The feeling of a fresh haircut.
Just like you, our families appreciate those little things in our House, as well as crawling into a warm bed after a long day in the hospital room. The taste of a home-cooked meal, even while far from home. A calming voice saying, “it’ll be okay.”
When families travel to Omaha for their child’s medical care, they need those little things to get through it. They find them at Ronald McDonald House Charities in Omaha.
How to Stay
Making The Extraordinary
Ordinary
Why do we focus on keeping things ordinary, unperturbed, and, yes, even boring? Because the families we serve are regular folks facing unfamiliar situations – with kids who have been diagnosed with medical issues that are sometimes rare, sometimes chronic and sometimes both. And they’re often hundreds of miles from home.
What they need is a welcoming place to stay and the little things that bring a sense of normalcy. Laundry facilities. Meals. Help with schoolwork. Places to hang out, watch movies or play games (whether board, video or invented). Assistance with managing finances and things back home. Maybe even a haircut or two.
So yes, we get very, very excited about keeping things on an even keel.
Consider Us the Made-to-Order,
One-of-a-Kind,
Double with Everything
In 1994, we opened our House with 10 guest rooms. In 2000, we doubled our capacity to 20. In 2019, we doubled down on doubling up and have expanded to 40 guest rooms. But that was just part of the plan. We’ve got extras and add-ons and unexpected upgrades galore. RMHC in Omaha’s facilities are unlike any other House in the world. A designation we honestly hope doesn’t last very long.
We Couldn’t Say it Better Ourselves
In 2020, RMHC in Omaha hosted 196 families from 26 states who spent a total of 4,777 nights – with an average stay of 45 days – at the House. Half of these families were making the trip to Omaha for the first time. And while each family shares a common bond, their stories are uniquely their own.
Help Us Keep the Love Local
Ronald McDonald House Charities in Omaha may be named after an internationally famous big-shoed burgermeister, but our mission and funding is decidedly local.
Our funding is raised throughout the year at several RMHC events, the collection of pop can tabs (seriously, it helps pay our electric bill), and various kind-hearted corporate and individual donors from around the community.
Additional funding comes in part from McDonald’s Owners of Nebraska and Western Iowa, the regional McDonald’s franchisee group, who support us as title sponsors of our annual golf tournament, via the donation boxes at McDonald’s drive-thrus, and many assorted other forms of generosity.
It costs $120 per night to host a family. And while we suggest that each family contribute $20 towards that amount, no one is ever turned away due to financial reasons.
So, if you’d like to donate and perhaps sponsor a night, or if you’re more of the volunteering type, call us today at 402-346-9377, and we will find the best fit for you.
Benefits of Staying at the House
There is clinical research supporting that Ronald McDonald House is the best housing option for families when they are away from home and their child needs medical care. These are a few of the benefits that families receive while staying at Ronald McDonald House:
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Support Access to Care
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Reduce Financial Burden
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Provide Psychological Support Keeping Families Together
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Enhance Clinical Experience and Outcomes
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Help Families Resume Normalcy
Our Partners & Programming
Through many amazing partnerships, we are able to provide wrap-around services for all members of the family.
Below is a list that captures many of our partners and programs.
- Completely KIDS: Many of the patients and siblings experience gaps in education due to illness and travel. Completely KIDS offers curriculum-based programs, along with activities for adults such as parenting skills classes or crafting.
- Omaha Therapy Arts Collaborative and Project Harmony: Created a pre-trauma support group that addresses mental health needs for the entire family of sick pediatric patients.
- Om-Pop: Offers mindful parenting tools and techniques, along with yoga poses, activities and breathing exercises for children that help with stress, anxiety, courage, resilience and self-love.
- Simon Says Birthday Part Project: Visits RMHC on a monthly basis to host a birthday party celebrating all children and parents’ birthdays that month.
- Capitol School of Hairstyling and Esthetics: Provides haircuts in the House salon. This provides safety and convenience of self-care, especially for those who are undergoing chemotherapy treatments.
- Pups With a Purpose (Shasta) and Ralphie: Therapy dogs that provide in-person support by appointment.
- Bags of Fun: Works with the House to supply sick children with bags of toys and activities which are individually crafted for each child.
- Project Sunshine: Creighton student volunteers who Visit the House twice a month to do crafts with both kids and adults. All materials for projects are donated by Project Sunshine.
- Private Tutors: Community volunteers that offer their educational services to sick children and their siblings staying at the House.
- Angels Among Us: Leasing space within the House, AAU provides financial support to families of children battling cancer.
- CyncHealth: Enabling providers in Nebraska to exchange healthcare data, CyncHealth measures patient outcomes by reviewing data for consenting RMHC residents obtained using the CyncHealth Health Information Exchange (HIE) with a goal of evaluating the overall success of RMHC’s programming.
- College of Saint Mary’s Occupational Therapy Students: Collaborated with the House, drafting a plan to create a Sensory Room within RMHC which will introduce families to Sensory Integration Therapy (SIT). This is a unique form of occupational therapy that promotes mental well-being by way of connecting all of the senses.
- UNMC Accelerated Nursing Program: Students visit the house to complete projects that support families during their stay.
- National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): Provided a 9-week training for RMHC’s Program Manager and Chief Program Officer to help them better serve House families.
- The Collective of Hope: Provided Grief Facilitator training for RMHC’s Program Manager and Chief Program Officer to help them better serve House families.
- Saving Grace: Receives and exchanges food items with the House depending on how each organization adhere to food expiration date protocols.
- Integrated Life Choices: Make weekly on-site visits to RMHC to assist with disinfecting toys to ensure a clean environment while also allowing people with disabilities the opportunity to be engaged in a full life in the community.
- Omaha Community Playhouse: Visits the House where children get to spend time learning about writing and telling stories, acting, and working their imagination. This program allows for parents to have some independent time from their kids while still remaining in the House and also allows their child to do exactly what they are supposed to be doing… acting like a kiddo.
To learn more about the House, or to visit us and take a tour, please call us at 402-346-9377
