Ronald McDonald Room in Ventura
When families face the hardest days of their lives, sometimes what they need most is a place to rest, breathe, and feel just a little less alone. That’s the work of the Ronald McDonald House Charities, and here in Ventura, we have our own—small but mighty—a Ronald McDonald Room inside our hospital.
I recently took a walk for the House and shared it on video, because it’s not just a building. It’s a lifeline.
Why It Matters to Me
As an Alaska Native, this work is personal. For decades, we sent families from villages and towns across Alaska to the Children’s Hospital in Seattle. They weren’t just making a quick trip. They often left home for weeks or months with a child battling cancer, congenital heart disease, or other life-threatening illnesses.
The Ronald McDonald House in Seattle became a sanctuary for those families. And finally—after years of waiting—the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage now has its own Ronald McDonald House to support Native families close to home. That’s a milestone worth celebrating.
Stories of Shelter and Strength
But the reach of these houses goes far beyond my community.
My good friend Bill knows this firsthand. When his daughter needed a bone marrow transplant, they had to go to New York City. For months, the Ronald McDonald House was their home—offering them stability, compassion, and community while they waited through the most anxious nights of their lives.
And closer to my own family, my brother-in-law endured seventeen surgeries in Philadelphia. His parents lived at the Ronald McDonald House there through each operation, recovery, and long and frightening stretch in the hospital.
These stories aren’t unique—they’re the thread of what RMHC does everywhere.
A Room Here in Ventura
Here in Ventura, our Ronald McDonald Room isn’t a full house like in Anchorage, Seattle, or New York. But the mission is the same. Parents can step away from the machines and beeping monitors, make a cup of coffee, rest their eyes for a few hours, and feel human again. It’s not luxury—it’s humanity.
When your child is sick, that humanity is priceless.
Why I Walk, Why I Share
The walk I did for the House is my small way of giving back. For me, every step was for the families who can’t leave the hospital, for the siblings doing homework in a waiting room, and for the parents who just need one night of decent sleep before facing another day at their child’s bedside.
The Ronald McDonald Room in Ventura is part of a bigger movement—thousands of rooms, houses, and volunteers across the world remind families: you are not alone.
How You Can Help
If you live here, consider volunteering or supporting the Ventura room. If you live elsewhere, look up your local Ronald McDonald House. Chances are there’s a family close by who desperately needs what they offer.
I’ve seen what happens when families have a place to stay, and I’ve seen what happens when they don’t. The difference is more than a roof—it’s hope.
Thank you for sharing what great work the Ronald McDonald House does.
In these crazy times, it is nice to stop and be reminded that there is compassion and caring in this world.