Since 1982, Ronald McDonald House New Mexico has proudly been caring for families so they can care for theirs. Since our doors first opened, we have focused on our mission to provide essential services that remove barriers, strengthen families and promote healing when children need healthcare.
Working as a pediatric oncologist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in the 1970s, Dr. Audrey E. Evans saw families spend night after night in the hospital while their children received life-saving medical treatment.
She knew there had to be a better way and envisioned a house where families could stay during these stressful and uncertain times.
Working as a pediatric oncologist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in the 1970s, Dr. Audrey E. Evans saw families spend night after night in the hospital while their children received life-saving medical treatment.
She knew there had to be a better way and envisioned a house where families could stay during these stressful and uncertain times.
The Ronald McDonald House story began in Philadelphia in 1974. The Philadelphia Eagles were raising funds in support of player Fred Hill, whose daughter, Kim, was in treatment for leukemia at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. Kim’s diagnosis inspired the Hill family to advocate for a place to support families while their children received care at nearby hospitals. Fred collaborated with our co-founder Dr. Audrey Evans to bring that vision to life.
When Eagles’ General Manager Jimmy Murray approached St. Christopher’s about making a donation, Dr. Lawrence Naiman suggested there was an even greater need for funds resting with Dr. Evans. Jimmy met Dr. Evans and became a champion for her cause. He reached out to Eagles advertiser, McDonald’s, with the idea that they could offer the proceeds from their Shamrock Shake sales to benefit this new house. McDonald’s agreed, and the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House was born on October 15, 1974.
Today there are over 375 Ronald McDonald House Programs in 65 countries and regions across the world.
Ronald McDonald House New Mexico was a vision conceived in 1979 by a collaboration of three Albuquerque hospitals, as well as medical groups, private citizens, and the Junior League of Albuquerque.
Seed funding ($25,000) from McDonald’s Ray Kroc Fund was just the beginning. The group incorporated and established a volunteer board.
The Junior League pledged time and money to build the House. Following extensive real estate searches, a 50-year lease was awarded by the UNM Board of Regents for the original site on UNM North Campus.
The Ronald McDonald House on Yale Boulevard opened on October 30, 1982, with eight guest rooms. Eighteen months later, the House was already too small, and plans began to expand to meet the community need for family services. By December 1985, 10 bedrooms, 10 baths, a large living room, two solariums, more laundry space, and another kitchen were added.
In March 1996, we began serving the community as Ronald McDonald House New Mexico with a mission to provide temporary housing to families with ill children.
In 2007, we opened the Ronald McDonald Family Room at UNM Children’s Hospital, where we provide respite services outside the walls of the Ronald McDonald House.
A year later, we completed the latest House expansion, increasing the number of family guestrooms from 18 to 31. The House now has the capacity to provide over 11,000 family lodging nights annually.
Following the success of the Family Room at UNM Children’s Hospital, we launched a second Family Room in Presbyterian Hospital in downtown Albuquerque in 2013. This space had similar amenities to the original – lounge space, kitchenette, and washer/dryer – but also included four sleep rooms.
Over the last several years, demand for Ronald McDonald House New Mexico’s support has increasingly exceeded its capacity, which means more and more families who hope to stay at the House are turned away because it is full. To address this critical need, a second Ronald McDonald House facility, the Highlands House, was opened across the street from Presbyterian Hospital within a Marriott SpringHill Suites Hotel. This first-of-a-kind endeavor provides an additional 20 guest rooms to our lodging program, allowing Ronald McDonald House New Mexico to serve an additional 640 families annually.
