Background
The Finnish Ronald McDonald House Charity Foundation was founded in 1996. As a result of the foundation’s charitable work which started more than twenty years ago, the Ronald McDonald House was opened in Helsinki on March 14, 2002.
The HUS New Children’s Hospital cares for small patients from all over Finland who need the most demanding treatments. The hospital takes good care of the child and the patient will certainly receive the best possible treatment there – our job is to take good care of the patients’ families.
Objective
The Ronald McDonald House Charity foundation aims primarily at:
1. Collecting funds to maintain the House and keep accommodation costs low for families.
2. Providing a home-like setting in our House for the families of children coming to the New Children’s Hospital for treatment from all across the country.
3. Working to promote the well-being of the whole family when a child’s illness changes the family’s life.
The Board
Our foundation’s board members bring strong support to our operations through their own expertise.
Hannu Wiinikainen, chairman of the Board / McDonald´s franchisee
Tuomo Kotialho, A-Insinöörit
Katja Laine, Sydänlapset ja -aikuiset ry.
Juli Mansnerus, Dittmar & Indrenius Attorneys Ltd.
Petri Munkki, Gofore
Inger Mäenpää, HUS New Children’s Hospital
Heli Ryhänen, Food Folk Suomi Oy
Marko Sauren, McDonald´s franchisee
Anne Soininen, private senior advisor
Mikael Tuompo, private senior advisor
RMHC internationally
“When a child becomes seriously ill, the whole family is affected” said the pediatrician and oncologist Dr. Audrey Evans, who holds a special place in our history and in our hearts. Dr. Evans worked for what we now call family-centered care. She understood that families need to be close to each other during the child’s treatment and 50 years ago she made her vision a reality when the first Ronald McDonald House opened in Philadelphia. We will always be grateful to Dr. Evans’ commitment and today we want to honor her outstanding work that made a big difference worldwide.
We are part of the international RMHC network which operates in 62 countries, there are already close to 400 Ronald McDonald Houses around the world. RMHC positively impacts the lives of the families of millions of sick children every year. With the support of the network, we get access to the latest research results, we get to share ideas with our international colleagues and the opportunity for free trainings – we use these in our operations to serve families even better. This year is a year of Celebration – RMHC 50 years!