Community Knowledge Centre - Toronto Community Foundation

About this organization

Mission

To provide a ‘home away from home’ for seriously ill children and their families to heal better together.

History of Organization

The first Ronald McDonald House to open outside of the U.S. and the first to open in Canada Ronald McDonald House Toronto started as a three storey, 21 bedroom, red brick, Victorian style home that opened in June 1981. Demand was so great; a replacement House was opened in the fall of 1993.

Ronald McDonald House Toronto was born out of the vision of a few dedicated volunteers and supporters who recognized the need for a supportive, caring “home away from home” for families of seriously ill children.

Accolades and Accomplishments

Since opening in 1981 Ronald McDonald House Toronto has expanded our mandate from serving children with cancer to supporting all seriously ill children and their families. Each year we provide 9,569 family nights of comfort to families during what is often the most frightening time of their lives. An incredible milestone occurred in 2004 when the school at RMH Toronto was recognized as a fully accredited private school by the Ontario Ministry of Education. Unfortunately at times our turn-away rate is as high as 70 per cent. In response to this intense demand we are currently building the largest Ronald McDonald House in the world. This House will serve 80 families and will provide an additional 19,139 family nights of critical comfort each year.

Programs

>Ronald McDonald House School
>Child Life Program
>Family Support Programs

The House offers 28 comfortably furnished family bedrooms, each with a private bathroom. Families also have access to a common kitchen, dining area, family room, playroom, and free laundry facilities.

Although the cost of accommodating a family for a single night is more than $170, families are asked to contribute just $15 a night with a monthly max of $400.

RMH Toronto is more than just a place for families to lay their heads. We are a place where families can continue the familiar routines of home life, despite their traumatic situations. We provide an atmosphere of compassion and understanding in a stressful and frightening time. 

RMH Toronto is also privileged to have volunteers and partners who complement our programs with activities like PAWS (pet therapy), Home for Dinner and shiatsu massage to name a few.

Designed to nourish the spirit as well as the body, our specialized programs let children fill their days with ordinary, enjoyable activities, while also giving families the chance to spend quality time together.

• The School at RMH Toronto: A fully accredited private school offering education for seriously ill children and their siblings.
• Child Life Program: A Chance for Kids to just be Kids!
• Expressive Arts Program: Enables both sick children and their siblings to use creative means to articulate their emotions related to illness and treatment, as well as how it has affected their family.
• Play Program :A structured program where children can enjoy activities such as woodworking, arts and crafts, and movie nights—allowing “kids to just be kids.”
• Family Support Services :Our programs truly make RMH Toronto a place for our families to heal better—together.

Ronald McDonald House School

In September 2003, the School at RMH Toronto opened in response to the increase in long-term stays of families at the House. Prior to this time, patients staying at the House were eligible for half an hour a day of tutoring through hospitals in Toronto and siblings did not have access to this service. At the School at RMH Toronto, siblings and patients can now attend class every day. Our school teacher is responsible for providing educational support to the twenty-eight families staying at the House. A classroom is located in the House and serves as a one-room schoolhouse for children from Junior Kindergarten to Grade Twelve. All lessons and units follow the Ontario Curriculum. RMH Toronto’s school was accredited in 2004 as a private school by the Ontario Ministry of Education.

School is much more than reading, writing and arithmetic here at RMH Toronto. Every week, students travel to Ryerson University for Physical Education. Once a month, students travel on a field trip to complement the themes being studied. In addition, school fairs are held monthly. At these special events, students celebrate their learning by leading educational centres. Parents and staff are invited to join in the fun. In 2008/09, we averaged 68 school visits per month and in 2006, we were proud to have our first high school graduate.

Funding and Program Partners

Ronald McDonald House Toronto is delighted to have long term partners who are committed to sustaining and enhancing programs and services for families.  Our 2010 Heal Better Partners include CCL Industries Inc.,  NCR Canada, SAP Canada, CIBC and Colliers International.

Program Impact

The School is important for both patients and siblings for a variety of reasons:

• Attending class provides a sense of normalcy for children during a very difficult and unpredictable time.
• It helps children maintain academic standing throughout treatment so they don’t fall behind while undergoing care in Toronto.
• Our teacher facilitates reintegration into home schools.
• The classroom is a safe environment for children to talk about their emotions and make social connections with other kids in similar situations.
• School gives students an alternative focus to their illness during a traumatic time.

Toronto's Vital Signs® indicator(s) addressed by Program

"The 2008 health profile of Toronto residents (12 years old and over) reveals that just over half (57%) perceive themselves to be in very good or excellent health, (compared to 61% in 2007), and 12.8% are in fair or poor health." (Toronto's Vital Signs®, 2009)

The School at Ronald McDonald House Toronto targets its efforts at children who are seriously ill and unable to attend educational institutions in their own communities. By offering these services, Ronald McDonald House Toronto is providing a sense of normalcy and structure for children and families as they go through one of the most difficult periods of their lives.

Participant Vignette

You never think it can happen to you. And then suddenly it does. You’re sitting in the doctor’s office, clutching your husband’s hand, and you hear the dreaded words, “Your daughter has leukemia.”

The sun is streaming through our bedroom window at Ronald McDonald House Toronto and six-year-old Alicia is up like a flash. Without a word of prompting, she gets dressed and brushes her teeth. “I’m ready to go to school now, Mommy,” she says.

This is not the same little girl my husband and I brought here a few weeks ago. That Alicia was quiet and depressed. I had to coax her out of her hospital bed every morning.

All that changed when Alicia got to the House. Almost instantly she felt comfortable here. She had the school and a whole houseful of new friends to play with. She had her family, including her baby sister, by her side. It was the next best thing to home.

As a mom, I am so very grateful. Ronald McDonald House Toronto gave Alicia a place to feel safe in the last months of her recovery.

Each family, every child, who turns to Ronald McDonald House Toronto finds something they need here. Sometimes it’s the relief that comes with having an affordable place to stay. Sometimes it’s the understanding of other parents. And sometimes, it’s the chance to go to school, play with friends and just be a kid again.

Child Life Program

The Child Life Program helps children understand and cope with their health care experience. The use of medical dolls and standard medical equipment such as syringes during activities helps children become more comfortable with and less fearful of different procedures and treatments they face at the hospital.

Funding and Program Partners

Ronald McDonald House Toronto is delighted to have long term partners who are committed to sustaining and enhancing programs and services for our families.  Our 2010 Heal Better Partners include CCL Industries Inc., NCR Canada, SAP Canada, CIBC, Colliers International and  Scotiabank – long time Year of Hope Partner .  Our community supporters are an invaluable resource in helping families heal better – together.

Program Impact

The program impacts entire families, offering support and coping skills to siblings and parents while utilizing therapeutic play to reduce stress and aid in emotional expression.

Toronto's Vital Signs® indicator(s) addressed by Program

The 2008 health profile of Toronto residents (12 years old and over) reveals that one quarter (25.5%) are sometimes or often limited from participation in activities by disability or illness."(Toronto's Vital Signs®, 2009)

Ronald McDonald House Toronto provides seriously ill children and their families, resources and programs to cope with their health care experiences. By offering these services, Ronald McDonald House Toronto is providing a sense of normalcy and structure for children and families as they go through one of the most difficult periods of their lives.

Participant Vignette

Meet Morgan

She knows, and lives, the importance of having a warm, supportive place for her and her mom, Geri-Ann, to stay at when she needs medical treatment in Toronto. Morgan was just two-and-a-half years old when her parents found out she had FSGS Neuphrotic Syndrome, a disease in which the kidneys are damaged and leak large amounts of protein. Morgan needed a kidney transplant. But, as doctors explained, the disease would return, and she would most likely need other transplants in the future.

Morgan had her first kidney transplant when she was five-years-old. Now 12, she has stayed with her mom at Ronald McDonald House Toronto (RMH Toronto) seven times – for three to six months each visit.

Spending so many birthdays, Christmas’s and holidays at the House; RMH Toronto really is their second home.

While at RMH Toronto, Morgan enjoyed slumber parties with new friends and keeping in touch with old friends back home through the wireless internet offered at the House. She was actively involved in the Child Life Program and found joy in the opportunity to do what kids do best –Play and have fun.

Family Support Programs

We know that the little things can make a BIG difference in the way our children and families heal. Sitting down to a home-cooked meal after a long day at the hospital. Borrowing a car to get groceries. Emailing your friends back home. Our support services are designed to make life just a little bit easier for our families while they are staying at RMH Toronto.

Funding and Program Partners

Many corporate partners and local community organizations provide a home-cooked meal through our Home for Dinner program.  CaTech provides free wireless and Vonage provides free long-distance phone service so that our families can stay in touch with distant loved ones. Subaru graciously provides a vehicle for families to get around the city.

Program Impact

Providing a ‘home away from home’ gives children and families a sense of normalcy in the most frightening time of their lives. Ronald McDonald House Toronto is a place for families to heal better together.

Toronto's Vital Signs® indicator(s) addressed by Program

"The 2008 health profile of Toronto residents (12 years old and over) reveals that one quarter (25.5%) are sometimes or often limited from participation in activities by disability or illness."(Toronto's Vital Signs®, 2009)

 Ronald McDonald House Toronto offers support services to our children and families in an attempt to make life just a little bit easier. The simple things make a big difference. A home-cooked meal, borrowing a car and access to email help provide a “home away from home”.

Participant Vignette

Meet Kaleigh

When Echo and Jewell’s baby girl, Kaleigh, was born she had Gastroschisis -- a hole in her abdominal wall causing her bowels to be exposed and she was in critical condition. She needed treatment in Toronto immediately, so new to parenthood and sick with worry, Echo and Jewell left their families, friends and hometown in Nova Scotia behind as they travelled over 1700 km to get the right care for their new baby.

Feeling alone and lost, they were relieved to find Ronald McDonald House Toronto. Having a safe, warm place to stay meant they could concentrate on what mattered most – providing the love and support for their little girl. Many anxious days were spent at the hospital, awaiting news on Kaleigh’s health, but they were able to find comfort and support in the community of families at the House.