In a quest to raise half a million rand and strengthen partnerships, the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) South Africa held their annual Red Socks Golf Day on August 8.
The event underscores a commitment to providing support and comfort to families during their most challenging times.
CEO of McDonald’s South Africa Greg Solomon explained that the event was held annually to bring the McDonald’s family together.
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“The concept, which is the three-legged stool, is made up of our franchisees, corporations, and suppliers and today is about bringing our entire network together to raise money for Ronald McDonald House of Charities. We are hoping to raise half a million rand.”
Solomon added that McDonald’s has a Ronald McDonald House in the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital, and Ronald McDonald Family Rooms at the Chris Hani Baragwaneth Hospital, and hopes to expand to the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
CEO of RMHC SA Jo-Anne Joffe noted that the golf day not only aimed to bring much-needed funds but donors from different walks of life as well to the initiative.
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Joffe added that earlier this year a lactation centre was launched to make the lives of breastfeeding mothers easier. “It is where mothers who have sickly children who require milk in our rooms come to express milk through breast pumps and take it to their children in bottles because we believe breast is best.”
RMHC SA is an independent non-profit organisation, governed by a board of directors, and operated by staff and volunteers.
It was established in 2012 and is part of the global network of chapters that keep families with sick children close to each other and the medical care they need through programs like the Ronald McDonald House and Ronald McDonald Family Room program. Over 94 per cent of leading hospital partners agree that RMHC SA reduces stress and financial burden for families, and helps their hospitals deliver the best care possible.
Key Achievements and Services:
• The Ronald McDonald House at Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital, Parktown, Johannesburg, offers 27 hotel-style rooms for families travelling more than 60km to receive specialist medical care for their children.
• Families are provided with private bedrooms and access to common spaces, including a kitchen, dining room, family lounge, games room, library, and laundry facilities.
• The 27 rooms are a remembrance of the years former President Nelson Mandela spent incarcerated.
• Ronald McDonald Family Rooms at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in Soweto, opened on November 28, 2013, serve families with children in the NICU and Ward 66.
• These rooms provide a homely environment where parents, guardians, caregivers, and siblings can stay while their sick or injured children receives treatment.
• Over the past 12 years, the Ronald McDonald Family Rooms supported more than 26 000 families and children, offering beverages, snacks, and non-clinical programs to mothers.
• Since 2018, the Ronald McDonald House provided 35 083 bed nights, serving 3 266 families.
• The average stay for a family in 2023 was 12.52 days, with the house maintaining an 88% occupancy rate in 2024.
• Year-to-date the Ronald McDonald Family Rooms welcomed 513 families, with a total of 270 198 registered visits since inception.
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