Ronald McDonald House Charities of Connecticut & Western MA

Community
Equality
Family
Health
People with Disabilities

Who We Are

The mission of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts is to provide essential services that remove barriers, strengthen families, and promote healing when children need healthcare.

Together, our vision is a world where every family has what they need to ensure the best health outcomes for their children.

Our purpose is caring for families with children who are ill or injured.

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts (RMHC CTMA) has a proud legacy of supporting families with children facing medical challenges. Since its founding, the organization has served as a beacon of hope, providing comfort, care, and a home away from home during families' most difficult times.

A Timeline of Care and Compassion

1985: The first Ronald McDonald House in the region opened in New Haven, offering families a place to stay near hospitals while their children received critical medical care.
1988: Ronald McDonald House Charities of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts was created as part of the global Ronald McDonald House Charities network, solidifying its mission to support the health and well-being of children and their families in local communities.
1991: The Ronald McDonald House of Springfield opened, addressing the needs of families with critically ill or injured children seeking essential medical care in Western Massachusetts.
2013: To better serve families in our communities and combine resources to strengthen the brand, RMHC CTMA merged with the Ronald McDonald House of Springfield and the Ronald McDonald House of Connecticut. While each legacy entity continues to exist, the Chapter operates as the overarching organization supporting children through its Ronald McDonald House programs.
2017: The Ronald McDonald House of Connecticut relocated to a new, state-of-the-art facility directly across the street from Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital, ensuring even greater accessibility and support for families.‍
2024: The region’s first Ronald McDonald Family Room was established inside Baystate Children’s Hospital, providing caregivers a much-needed space for rest and respite within the hospital setting.

With each milestone, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts has expanded its reach and deepened its commitment to keeping families together and supported during their most challenging times.

What We Do

Make a difference

We believe in bringing communities together at local levels to support families from around the world throughout their entire healthcare journey. There are many ways that you can get involved to support our families.

Whether you donate your time, money or services, you help to support hundreds of families with ill or injured children all year long. Your efforts and generosity can help us support families and their children during stressful and frightening times. However you choose to support our Houses, you make a difference.

Become a volunteer While there are many ways you can donate to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts, volunteers are the heart of each of our Ronald McDonald House Charities programs. Our volunteers make all the difference in the lives of our families—cooking, hosting, nurturing, or simply being there to offer support when they can. Volunteers help to offset costs and expenses that help us better allocate resources to services and programs for those staying with us. While we focus on the critical needs of parents and their children, volunteers are our lifeline.

We are currently recruiting volunteers for a number of positions and roles, including:

House & Office Support: Regular shifts spent at our Houses performing administrative and guest services roles.
Fundraising Support: Support an event’s Committee Chairperson through marketing and preparation.
Cooking for Families: Prepare a Meal from the Heart for our families with your family, club, company, or faith-based group.
Community Services: From gardening to painting and handyman work, you or your business can provide specialized services to our Houses.
Teen Board: The Teen Board’s mission is to raise awareness for our Houses in communities to encourage high school students to become active in community service.
Family Room Support: Regular shifts spent in our Family Room helping families that visit and keeping the area clean and freshly stocked with supplies.