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First Ronald McDonald House to open in Changsha next year

2014-10-22 13:27 China Daily Web Editor: Qin Dexing
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Nearly 3,000 families from eight cities took part in McDonald's Run for Love campaign. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Nearly 3,000 families from eight cities took part in McDonald's "Run for Love" campaign. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Nearly 3,000 families dressed in red-and-white striped socks and from eight cities participated in the "Run for Love" campaign organized by global fast-food chain McDonald's on Sunday to raise funds for its first Ronald McDonald House in China.

The House, which is expected to start in 2015, is a global program that aims to provide housing for families of sick children when they are in the hospital.

For each of the participants who complete the run, McDonald's, will donate 10 yuan ($1.61) to the upcoming Ronald McDonald House as part of the celebration of the Ronald McDonald House Charity's 40th anniversary.

Phyllis Cheung, managing director of McDonald's China, said that RMHC is the company's key adopted charity globally. Across China, the company's 2,000 restaurants are taking part in the donation drive between October 15 and 26 when customers who donate 20 yuan will receive a pair of Ronald McDonald's red-and-white striped socks. With about 320,000 pairs of socks ready to be delivered, the target is to raise 6.4 million yuan.

Families or relatives of hospitalized children will no longer suffer hardships related to accommodation as the Ronald McDonald House will provide them with a free "home away from home" under the recommendation of its partnership hospitals, said officials.

A Ronald McDonald House comprises of several family rooms and caters to the housing and other living expenses of the families of hospitalized children.

The first such House in China is expected to open in Changsha, capital of Hunan province, next year, according to Jessica Lee, chairman of the China Ronald McDonald House Charity, a charity registered under the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation in 2006.

Lee said it took them a year to identify children hospitals' locations in China and their standing with local medical communities before they decided to partner with the Hunan Children's Hospital - a children's hospital with the largest number of hospital beds in Asia.

The chairman said they hope to have a second facility in China soon with a goal of having at least five such facilities in the next five to six years. In Japan the chain has about 3,000 McDonald's restaurants and seven Ronald McDonald Houses.

Depending on which city it is located in, the House facility, including construction, refurbishing, rent and operational costs, will be between 6 to 10 million yuan each year. The House will have about 20 rooms and start operating in the third or fourth quarter of next year.

The applicants will be subject to strict assessment and recommendation before they are given permission to use the house, said Lee.

Priority will be given to those "in real need" such as poor families with kids suffering from tumors or cancer.

"Though we do not donate money directly to these families, we provide them a 'home away from home' because we believe a family's love is the best medicine for their hospitalized children," said Lee .

More than 337 Ronald McDonald Houses can now be found in more than 35 countries and regions across the globe.

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