20 years of McHappy Day

This year marks one of the biggest years yet for McHappy Day as we celebrate our 20th Anniversary on Saturday November 12 and aim to raise a record $3 million for Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC).

Since the first McHappy Day in 1991, the Australian community has helped us raise over $18.5 million for RMHC. These funds have helped RMHC to both extend their programs and continue to provide much needed assistance to families with seriously ill children including. In 2010/2011 alone RMHC:

• Added ten new bedrooms to the existing Ronald McDonald House in Adelaide Was able to help an extra 100 children on the Learning Program
• Launched EDMEd, a program that trains teachers about educational issues relating to serious illness
• Opened new Ronald McDonald Family Rooms in Wodonga and Monash Hospitals Launched Australia’s first Ronald McDonald Care Mobile

There are now 13 Ronald McDonald Houses, a growing Learning Program and six Family Rooms across Australia and in 2010 alone we saw:

• 6,300 families sleep in a Ronald McDonald House
• 700 children catch up on missed education
• 16,500 people visiting the Ronald McDonald Family Rooms
• The Ronald McDonald Houses accommodate up to 270 families every night

Since the beginning the Houses have provided more than 63,000 families with a home away from home while their child has undergone treatment at a nearby hospital and over 93,000 people have visited a Family Room since 1991.

To find out more information about the Charity you can visit www.rmhc.org.au or find them on Facebook at facebook.com/RMHCAustralia.