FAQs

Ronald McDonald House Charities provides a warm, safe, home-away-from-home when seriously ill or injured children require specialist care and treatment far from their hometowns in regional and rural Australia.

We strive to provide valuable family-centred care that plays a vital role for families while their child receives treatment. Thanks to the community, we provide much-needed holistic support that alleviates the financial and emotional for families while improving their ability to cope.

Funds raised through Gift a Night support over 2,800 families of seriously sick and injured children who rely on the support of Ronald McDonald House Charities Sydney and Ronald McDonald House Charities Greater Western Sydney, every year.

Ronald McDonald House Charities Sydney offers support through the Ronald McDonald House in Randwick, Ronald McDonald House Learning Program and Family Rooms in the Sydney Children’s Hospital, Wollongong Hospital and Royal North Shore Hospital.

Ronald McDonald House Charities Greater Western Sydney provides support through the Ronald McDonald House in Westmead, Ronald McDonald House Learning Program, Ronald McDonald Hospitality Cart and the Family Room in Nepean Hospital.

 *The Nepean Family Room is currently closed for renovations and will reopen in the not-too-distant future.

Our Houses are a warm and supportive home-away-from-home for families of children who need to travel to Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick or The Children’s Hospital at Westmead for treatment. We create a safe and welcoming environment where families can remain connected and parents can communicate more easily with their child's medical team.

The Houses provide a community of support, which embraces families and provides the opportunity for sick children, siblings and carers to continue enjoying everyday moments and creat memories, together. Our communal kitchen, lounge and laundry facilities also provide families with the independence to cater for themselves and keep up with day-to-day living as much as possible.

Families are offered in-house support during their stay, including home-cooked dinners multiple times a week, school holiday programs and other personal gestures that help make an uncertain and stressful time, a little it easier.

On average, it costs $160 per night to support each family staying at Ronald McDonald House Charities Sydney (in Randwick) and Greater Western Sydney (in Westmead).

For the families staying at the Houses, their entire stay at no cost, to help relieve some of the pressures of being away from home.

In the traditional sense of the word, a night would simply refer to a roof over someone's head for the night, but at Ronald McDonald House, it means so much more to our families.

A night for our families means:

• Supported accommodation at no cost, so families can focus on their sick child
• A network of support through other families, staff and volunteers
• The hospital is a quick 5-minute walk away
• A kitchen full of food, with meals cooked by our supporters three times a week
• In-house education support by qualified teachers
• Access to 40 hours of free tuition when the patient returns home

Gift a Night is a joint fundraising initiative between Ronald McDonald House Charities Sydney (in Randwick) and Ronald McDonald House Charities Greater Western Sydney (in Westmead). Together, we are raising vital funds to support the services provided for families and their sick or seriously injured children.

For 24 hours from 12pm 17 August 2023  until 12pm 18 August 2023, we will be calling on the community to show their support and donate.

Our goal is to raise $400,000 to fund 2,500 nights of support for families in the care of Ronald McDonald House Charities Sydney (at Randwick) and Ronald McDonald House Charities Greater Western Sydney (in Westmead).

By donating now, you can give a seriously ill or injured child the best gift of all – their family.  

Gift a Night will take place for 24 hours between 12pm Thursday 17 August and finishing 12pm Friday 18 August.

Thanks to our generous Dollar-Matching Partners, all donations will be DOUBLED for 24 hours only (or until matched funds run out).

This opportunity for dollar matching is only possible thanks to our generous Dollar-Matching Partners. Our dedicated partners have pledged various amounts of support to ensure that for 24 hours between 12pm Thursday 17 August and finishing 12pm Friday 18 August, all donations will be doubled.

Thank you so much for your incredible support. You can donate directly through our website by clicking here!

Remember, all donations made during the 24 hours (while matched funds last) will be DOUBLED dollar for dollar by our incredible Dollar-Matching Partners. Alternatively, if you’d like to support one of our fundraisers, simply click here and locate the correct fundraising page.

If you have any questions about your donations or would like to donate over the phone, please reach out to our team on supporting.sydney@rmhc.org.au.

Yes, we do.

Of course! We are always happy to help you donate to support the families of seriously sick and injured families. You will be able to donate on the Gift a Night website until 1 September 2023.

Note that your donation may not be matched after 12pm on Friday 18 August 2023.

Absolutely! We are so excited to have you join us, thank you so much! To get started, simply click here to set up your personal fundraising page to share with your family and friends.

If you’re still having trouble, just shoot us an email at supporting.sydney@rmhc.org.au and we will help you complete the setup.

Your online fundraising page is your best friend! Supporters can sponsor and donate to you directly through your personalised fundraising page. They will receive a receipt instantly via email, and you’ll receive a notification so you will be able to thank them!

If any of your family and friends would like to donate offline, simply reach out to us at supporting.sydney@rmhc.org.au.

We are so excited to see what you achieve. Here are our top tips to kick-start your fundraising:

1. Make a personal donation! The best way to start your fundraising is by setting the tone and donating yourself. Show your sponsors that you are committed and encourage their support.
2. Your fundraising blog. You can find it on “My Page” on your fundraising hub. Keep your page updated with your progress so your sponsors can see what you are up to!
3. Send emails straight from your fundraising page! On your fundraising hub on “My Dashboard” you will find “Get Support”. Here you can send emails to your contacts as well as share your page directly to your socials! 
4. Post on your social media asking for support. We have some helpful social tiles on our fundraising resources page to get your started. Don’t forget to use our hashtag #giftanight and tag @rmhcsydney and @rmhcgws on Facebook and @rmhc_sydney  and @rmhcgws on Instagram.

Easy! We love to see your progress and how you are getting involved! Simply use the hastag #giftanight and tag @rmhcsydney and @rmhcgws on Facebook and @rmhc_sydney  and @rmhcgws on Instagram.

Please get in touch with us via supporting.sydney@rmhc.org.au and we will be happy to answer your question.