Common questions

General Questions

Staying at the House

Who owns Ronald McDonald House Auckland?

Ronald McDonald House Auckland and the Ronald McDonald House Family Room (in Starship) are owned and operated by the RMH Auckland Trust, a 100% community charitable trust registered with the NZ Charities Commission.

A 12-member voluntary Board of Trustees governs the House and Family Room. The Board is responsible for policy making, governance, financial oversight, strategic funding, capital expansion projects and key staff appointment and development. The Board employs the House’s Chief Executive who recruits and manages the 18 FTE (full-time equivalent) staff members at the House and Family Room and oversees its volunteer supporters. See Board of Trustees for a full list of our current Trustees.

The Trust has a ‘family’ of over 150 volunteers who work with the trustees and staff to help to create a welcoming environment for families, making a huge difference to the scope of support we can provide. Volunteers are also vital in the overall operation of the House and Family room. See how to volunteer for more information about how to become a volunteer.

How is Ronald McDonald House Auckland funded?

Some families are eligible for an accommodation subsidy from the Ministry of Health (providing they meet certain criteria and that they live more than 100 kilometres from their treatment centre). Although welcome and a major contributor to our operating budget, this subsidy does not cover the full cost of a family’s stay. Many families we shelter will never be eligible for a subsidy and our Trust covers these costs entirely.

In order to continue to provide shelter and quality programs and services to our families, our Trust is heavily reliant on funding support from our key partners, grant bodies and donations and bequests from the wider New Zealand community. Through these partnerships we actively fundraise to achieve the $2,300,000 it costs to shelter and support our families each year.

How is McDonald’s involved?

McDonald’s involvement in the Ronald McDonald House program dates back to 1974 when McDonald’s Restaurants’ owners/operators joined with the Philadelphia Eagles Football Club and citizens of Philadelphia to found the first Ronald McDonald House through joint fundraising and public awareness. The McDonald’s Corporation has since formed Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) which consists of local charitable chapters throughout the world.

McDonald’s directly supports its charity, RMHC, but does not directly participate in the day-to-day running of the Ronald McDonald Houses in NZ. The Auckland House has enjoyed a long association with a number of McDonald’s franchisees & suppliers around the country. Two of our longest standing supporters are Tony and Angela Rowlands, Waikato franchisees who each year, along with their team of staff, provide a fabulous midwinter Christmas event for House families — a highlight of the House’s social calendar!

What is Ronald McDonald House Charities?

Originally known as Ronald McDonald Children’s Charities, Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) is a registered charity owned by McDonald’s with a simple objective — to help children in need. It is committed to assisting registered charities whose programs are community-oriented and focus on improving the physical and emotional quality of life for children with serious illnesses, disabilities or chronic conditions, allowing them to lead happier, healthier and more productive lives.

The Ronald McDonald Houses in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch are the cornerstone beneficiaries of RMHC donations in New Zealand along with other programmes such as mobile dental caravans, a neo-natal unit at KidzFirst in South Auckland, some discretionary grants activity and soon to be two holiday retreats enabling NZ families with a seriously ill child to take a break. These are currently being built in Rotorua and are called the Ronald McDonald House Holiday Homes (they are funded and managed wholly by RMHC).

The New Zealand chapter of RMHC has been instrumental in establishing the Auckland House. They are one of five key stakeholder partners in the RMH Auckland Trust and provide a generous $325,000 operating grant per year (this equates to almost 14% of our annual operating budget) and assist with capital expansion funding when needed. For a full list of our key partners see Trust Partners.

Who can stay?

Families of children sent to Auckland for diagnosis or receiving treatment can stay at Ronald McDonald House Auckland for the duration of the treatment cycle or until diagnosis is complete, and they are discharged. Often we house children receiving outpatient treatment such as chemotherapy or radiation for the duration of their cycle. Children awaiting transplants may also stay at the House along with their families, while waiting for their operation and when they are recovering in our special isolation units to prevent the chances of infection.

Caregivers of critically ill children in intensive care or high dependency units in Starship stay at the Ronald McDonald House Family Room crisis accommodation. Usually this means the child’s parents (two people maximum per room). The initial booking is made for 24 hours and it is reviewed daily by ward staff. When their child moves to a ward, the family may be referred to Ronald McDonald House if their home is more than 100 kms from the hospital.

How much will it cost me to stay?

Our service is provided free to all families. This is because most of the families we see are not only experiencing one of the most stressful periods in their life, but for many it is also financially tough. Some parents are forced to leave their jobs, those who are self-employed have different issues. But all have on-going commitments to mortgages, rent, credit card, hire purchase, petrol, or car payments.

However we are very grateful to the many families who do make a donation either when they leave or when they get back on their feet financially sometime in the future.

If I’m not paying for my stay, who does?

If you live more than 100km from Starship children’s hospital, we may qualify to get a subsidy on the cost of your room from the Ministry of Health via your District Health Board, or from ACC. Not every family qualifies — it depends on where you come from, whether your referring specialist supports your booking and how long you are here.

It is therefore very important that you are registered for travel and accommodation before you arrive so the House can receive a subsidy and you can receive payment for your airfares or petrol if you drive. These are very difficult to achieve if you leave home without registering. In any case, the subsidy we may receive is not enough to cover the full cost of your stay and our Trust covers this shortfall. Some families will never be eligible for a subsidy and our Trust covers these costs entirely.

Our Trust is heavily reliant of funding support from all of its key partners, grant bodies and donations and bequests from the wider New Zealand community to help run the House and Family Room.

How many times can I stay at the House?

If your child is having treatment at Starship and there is no bed on the ward and the referring specialist believes it is in your child’s interest for your family to be here, then you may stay at the House as many times as is deemed necessary by your referring specialist.

When should I arrive?

Ronald McDonald House Auckland administration is open from 8.30am until 9:30pm daily. Usually your travel is dictated by hospital admission or clinic times however where possible please ensure you arrive by 9.30pm. Please call us on +64 9 303 1365 and let us know if you are going to arrive outside these hours.

If you arrive early, or indeed at any time in the morning, your room may not be available as ward rounds, when children are discharged, don’t happen until mid morning. We also do a thorough clean of rooms between families.

Don’t worry if your room is not ready, we can still check you in and orientate you. We’ll store your luggage until your room has been cleared and thoroughly cleaned. In the meantime you can use the House facilities or go up to the hospital. Usually when you get back to the House your room will be available.

If arriving the night before you are due at the hospital and we have your booking, please try to arrive at a reasonable hour as we have limited staff cover in the evenings, and don’t forget to call us if you are delayed so we can arrange for you to be greeted!

What should I bring?

Be sure to pack enough clothes and personal items for an extended stay if you are unsure how long you are going to be here. In the House we have a laundry for your use, but not in the Family Room which is for short stay accommodation only (however there are laundries in the ICUs if required).

You do not need to bring any linen or towels as we provide these for you. Toys that are special to your child are fine, but don’t worry about bringing too many as we have a communal play area.

You will need to provide food for your family’s needs while here so it is a good idea to bring a bag of staple food items or plan to purchase some groceries on arrival. Once you are here we run a shopping trip at 10am on most mornings (on request). Each week at least one shared family dinner is provided and bread, milk, tea, coffee and cereal are available to all families.

Please bring a computer if you need it to stay in touch with your work, family or friends. We can show you where you can connect to the internet in both the House and the Family Room. We have two computers onsite with free internet (broadband) access for families to use but these do get busy.

What do I do for meals while at the House?

We provide tea, coffee, sugar, milk, bread and cereal. You will need to purchase your own daily food e.g. breakfast, dinner and midday meals. You are allocated storage space for your food and the communal kitchens will have everything you need to cook with.

At least once a week we have a free family dinner cooked by our wonderful volunteers — The Mad Butcher and Tegel generously donate all the meat for these meals.

The Family Room in Starship has a range of snacks and light meals (suitable for lunch or dinner) that you can access for a small donation. Baked goods are supplied regularly by a number of kind individuals and organisations. Evening meals are also provided (on request) on a regular basis.

In emergencies, we can assist you with tinned goods such as soups, canned spaghetti, dried pasta and the like and there is a ‘donated’ food cupboard that has some basics that families can use if needed.

Is there always room for everyone who needs to stay?

We have 48 rooms at Ronald McDonald House Auckland and 13 rooms at the Ronald McDonald House Family Room.

Increasing demand has continued to outstrip our ability to supply rooms in both the House and Family Room. But just as no-one is asked to pay, no-one is ever turned away. Our Trust pays for families to stay in offsite accommodation handy to the hospital when our House is full or when a family member may have been exposed to an infectious disease such as chicken pox, in which case they may be put up in motels to protect the health of other families in the House. If need be we can give you taxi chits so you can get to the hospital conveniently and back without expensive parking costs.

We have a policy of one family = one room. Occasionally a family may be too big to stay in one of our rooms and so may also be accommodated offsite.