WINNIPEG -- Construction has officially begun on a new Ronald McDonald House in Winnipeg, that will help provide a haven for Manitoba families with sick or injured children.
The new 40-bedroom house will be located on Juno Street, close to the HSC Children’s Hospital, and will serve all pediatric disciplines.
The house will help Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) Manitoba help more families, address unserved families and wait times, and increase its ability to support more families in need of pediatric mental health, rehabilitation, bone marrow and organ transplants.
“We are growing our mission by 186 per cent,” said Wendy Galagan, CEO of RMHC Manitoba.
“We are growing from 14 bedrooms to 40, from 11,000 square feet to 50,000 square feet.”
She added that when families are faced with childhood illness, it’s important for them to be together.
“They need to be close to the care their child needs and they need to be close to each other as a family,” Galagan said.
“So family-centred health care is such an important part of the continuum of children’s pediatric health care, and families need to be together. So while the child is receiving the care that they need, the family is able to be together, maintain a family unit and to be close to that child as they receive care.”
She added that Ronald McDonald house provides accommodations, meals, transportation, parking and programming.
The total cost for this campaign is $19.8 million, making it the largest fundraising campaign RMHC Manitoba has ever taken on. So far, the charity has raised 76 per cent of the campaign goal.
“We are so confident that the community and the supporters will rally around the RMHC Manitoba mission and help us reach our goal,” Galagan said.
Galagan noted that construction on the house is expected to take about 12 to 16 months, so by June 2022 the charity will be able to serve more families.
