CHARLOTTESVILLE (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) — Sitting off of 9th Street SW, right behind the UVA Health University Medical Center, Charlottesville’s Ronald McDonald House has provided shelter and community for the families of sick children for decades.
The charity has been in Charlottesville since 1981, just seven years after the national organization was founded in Philadelphia in 1974. The Charlottesville outfit started with a house near Main Street, they moved to their current location in 1991.
Now, 24 years later, the House has recently undergone more changes, with Bryan Harris stepping in as the new Executive Director in April. Harris told Cville Right Now the change in some of the House’s leadership is due to it needing a larger focus on community support.
The House receives donations from 25 local McDonald’s locations across the Shenandoah Valley as part of a round-up program, but the world-famous fast-food company doesn’t fully fund the charity. The two are separate organizations, despite the charity being named after McDonald’s iconic clown mascot. Thus, Harris says the organization is hoping to spread the word about the need for community support as they look to expand their services.
“We have an 18-bedroom house,” Harris said, “and we’re looking to expand another 20-25 bedrooms within the next 3-5 years.”
The plans for expansion come amidst UVA Health’s own plans to open three additional floors to the south tower of its medical center in 2028, with additional beds for cancer and NICU patients.
But the Ronald McDonald house doesn’t just provide beds, it also provides meals to the 18 families living under its roof as well as other families at UVA Children’s Hospital, serving them Tuesday through Friday. Volunteers also man a hospitality cart that offers different activities to the children staying in the hospital, as well as their siblings.
All-in-all, Ronald McDonald hosts 800 to 1,000 families every year, with stays ranging from a single day to upwards of an entire year. That in addition to the services the house provides to additional families at the UVA Children’s Hospital means the house’s operating costs are high, and fundraising plays a critical role in their efforts.
One of their biggest upcoming fundraisers is JackFest, a family-friendly festival with kids’ races and other activities like inflatables and arts and crafts that will be held at Foxfield on Oct. 26. The festival raises funds for both the Ronald McDonald House and the pediatric oncology program at the University of Virginia Children’s Hospital.
The festival was started in 2019 to support the family of Jack Callahan, who at the time was battling metastatic cancer at just three years old. His parents, Mike and Emily, were living at the first Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia as their son underwent treatment for about nine months at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The festival was the idea of Mike’s friend Alec Lorenzoni, owner of Ragged Mountain Running and Walking Shop, and it was such a hit that the two decided to keep it going.
Today, Jack is nine and cancer-free, and his dad has served on the Charlottesville house’s Board of Directors for almost five years. Mike Callahan brings a unique perspective to the Board, having been a parent of a sick child who needed the charity’s support.
“Hopefully most people never need it,” he said of the organization, “because if you do it means you’re in a tough spot. But gosh, when it’s there for you and you need it, it means the world to you.”
Like Harris, Mike Callahan also emphasized the importance of community donations and also encouraged those interested in helping to reach out and look into volunteering.
“I think the Ronald McDonald House is a great place where Charlottesville can demonstrate how hospitable we are to people who come into our community who need help, who need support,” he said. “In some ways our organization is kind of the front door to the community for a lot of people who didn’t expect to be here.”
