Editor's note: This story was originally published in Health Care Quarterly, magazine about Southern Nevada's health care industry. Stories in Health Care Quarterly were submitted by doctors and their affiliates.
Open: 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.
Operated by: Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Las Vegas Board of Trustees
Operating since: July of 1998
What is your mission?
Believing that every child deserves a safe and supportive place to grow, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Las Vegas is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that creates and supports programs that directly improve the health, education and well-being of children in our community. The Ronald McDonald House is the cornerstone program of RMHC, providing temporary housing, meals and transportation for families who travel to Las Vegas to receive crucial medical treatment for their children.
Whom do you help?
The Ronald McDonald House helps families who travel to Las Vegas to receive essential medical treatment for their children. In 2013, 76 percent of the people served qualified as low to moderate income families.
What makes your organization unique?
As the only facility of its kind in Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Ronald McDonald House provides an oasis of comfort and care for families during a stressful and uncertain time in their lives.
What is the most important part of your nonprofit organization?
It is so important to keep families strong by keeping them together. The best medicine for sick or injured children is to have their moms and dads at their sides. The House makes this possible by enabling families to be together while their children receive treatment away from home.
What is the hardest part about operating your nonprofit in Las Vegas?
When we occasionally witness an RMHC family lose its child in the hospital, it shakes the RMHC staff to the core, but we remain strong to support these families.
What is the best part about operating your nonprofit in Las Vegas?
The most rewarding aspect of operating the Ronald McDonald House is seeing our children and families return to their homes, knowing they received the critical treatment they needed.
What obstacles has your organization overcome?
We have developed a hotel fund to pay for waitlisted families until room opens up at the RMHC House. This way, we don’t have to turn any families away.
How can individuals and businesses help you?
RMHC of Greater Las Vegas offers several volunteer opportunities for individuals and groups of all ages. Volunteers can cook dinner for families, prepare and deliver lunches, help around the House or in the office, and conduct fundraisers or wish list drives. The list goes on and on! Community members can also help raise funds for the Ronald McDonald House by collecting pop tabs for the House to recycle. This is an opportunity to support the organization while also helping the environment. Sponsorship opportunities and donations are another way for businesses and/or individuals to assist RMHC. For more information, please contact [email protected]. All donations to RMHC of Greater Las Vegas may be tax deductible, and all monies raised by RMHC of Greater Las Vegas stay right here in the community.
What are some of your upcoming events or projects?
Annual fundraising events for RMHC of Greater Las Vegas include the Food Drive, where we partnered with Smith’s Food and Drug in January to stock our House pantry for the families. Runnin’ for the House, a 5K run/1-mile walk family event hosted on April 18 at the Ronald McDonald House, includes a pancake breakfast and activity tent for children. The HeART of Giving Gala on Oct. 17 is a “Rockin Good Time” fundraising event that includes a silent/live auction, sit-down dinner and mind-blowing entertainment. For more information about RMHC events, visit www.rmhlv.com/.