New Ronald McDonald House Provides Respite

The yard at the Ronald McDonald House is large and has little traffic noise, even though it now sits at the busy intersection of College Avenue and Stadium Boulevard. Encased by towering trees, the new building at 1110 S. College Ave. provides pediatric patient families a calm sense of normalcy.   

“It’s amazing to me that this is a really busy intersection at Stadium and College, but it just feels like you just step away from everything. In the summer, it’s really amazing back here,” said Terri Gray, as she points to the sweeping back deck. Gray has been the CEO of Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) of Mid-Missouri since 2013. In the coming spring, RMHC will add four raised garden beds and start growing vegetables in part of the space.  

“It could be therapeutic for families or a great opportunity for volunteers, and it gives them fresh produce,” she explained.  

The Hearth Room is a large living room space, complete with comfortable seating from RMHC’s national partnership with La-Z-Boy, which furnishes all of the soft seating for the house. Off the Hearth Room is the expansive back deck, overlooking the manicured landscaping and overarching trees.   

“This is my favorite space. It’s really lovely in the mornings and evenings,” Gray added. “The nice big yard and chunky squirrels give a sense of normalcy for the families staying.”  

The new house, completed in June 2024, is about twice the size of the previous Ronald McDonald House at 3501 Lansing Avenue. The number of private guest rooms has expanded from eighteen to twenty-four. With parts of the basement left unfinished, it has the capacity to add another eleven rooms, if needed.   

The nonprofit’s board made adjustments to the new house based on feedback from guests staying in the previous house. The added workout room is Mizzou themed, with former Mizzou football coach Gary Pinkel providing the funding to buy all of the equipment. It is outfitted with elliptical machines, stationary bikes, a rowing machine, treadmills, and some of Pinkel’s favorite quotes.   

“Families in the old house always asked for a TV in their guest room and a place to work out,” Gray explained. “So, when building the new house, Ronald McDonald House Charities made sure to provide those things.”   

Each guest room resembles a hotel room and is now equipped with its own television, and some rooms are fitted with bathtubs instead of showers in the private bathrooms. Fourteen days is the average stay. Some families will stay for much longer and others stay for just a night or two. The house provides all the amenities of a home, laundry facilities, and a fully stocked kitchen, where families can make their own meals. Other amenities include an abundance of McDonald’s coffee, and spaces where guests can hang out and read a book, chat with a friend, or just watch television.   

The new kitchen is about twice the size of the previous kitchen and fully modernized. Volunteer groups come in every night to cook a hot meal for families returning late from the hospital or day of appointments.  

“It’s really important to the families to have their own private space, but also to have community spaces where they can get to know other families who are going through similar situations,” Gray said. “It becomes a built-in support network. We just had a family check-out today that had been with us for 180 days. Not every story ends well, as you might imagine.”   

At the entrance is a room labeled Sasha’s Store, which memorializes a piece of RMHC’s history. It was started at the previous house in a small alcove under a staircase as a place for families to grab toys, gifts, books, baby items, clothing, and more. Bill and Harriet Yelon, the parents of Sasha Yelon, didn’t have a place to stay while their son was undergoing medical treatments, having to move from place to place. The 7-year-old died in August 1990. His mother later served on the RMHC board and helped cut the ribbon to open Sasha’s Store.  

“We were getting all these donations in, and we wanted a place for families to come and grab stuff if they needed it,” Gray said. “We actually have a lot of siblings and patients who have their birthdays while they’re staying at the house or in the hospital, so parents can come in and grab toys and gifts. The room starts to fill up around the holidays.”  

RMHC staffers also use the donated items to give families staying in the guest rooms.   

Fifteen to twenty percent of RMHC’s funding comes from McDonald’s restaurant support and programs. This year, the nonprofit will receive around $36,000 from Penny for a Pound of French fries. Other funding is from individuals, businesses, and four signature events — Red Shoe Gala, Fore the House Golf Tournament, a sporting clays tournament, and Brunch and Blingo.  

Pediatric patients are 21 years old and younger, and they must have a referral from their physician, nurse, or social worker, and the family must also live outside of Boone County. If all of those conditions are met, a background check is run to ensure the safety of families at the communal living house. As long as their child is receiving treatment, parents and families are eligible to stay at the house.   

“I think that is one of the cornerstones of the Ronald McDonald House, is having that built-in network, where you know you’re not alone in this journey,” Gray said.