Ronald McDonald House to undergo major expansion

The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Alabama recently announced a $7.5 million charity campaign to expand the Birmingham campus by adding a 28,543-square-foot wing that will almost double occupancy. 

Thus far, the Healing Together Campaign has raised a little more than $6 million in large donations, but the rest is up to the public, said campaign Co-Chairman Jeff Logan of the Birmingham Barons.

Co-Founder of RMHCA Max Cooper will match donations for the cause up to $500,000 until the $7.5 million goal is reached, Logan said. 

The main plan for expansion involves adding 33 single-family guest suites to the existing 41 suites. 

In addition, many new facilities will be added, including a new family center with a larger dining room, a game room, a volunteer kitchen, a laundry room on each floor, a meeting/activity center, a meditation room, a toy store, a fitness room, a new meeting and storage room and increased donation storage. 

The project also will increase the size of family rooms on each floor and add two new family rooms to the main floor. 

The expansion comes in response to Children’s of Alabama’s 2012 expansion that has led to more families traveling to Birmingham. 

The House typically has a waiting list of about 12 families each night, and during the summer of 2015, there were as many as 55 families waiting. An average family stay lasts 14 to 20 days. 

RMHCA CEO Katherine Estes Billmeier said she’s excited for the opportunity to serve more families by providing them with not only a place to stay, but also a place to receive comfort and counseling from other families with similar experiences.

“It’s not so much that they have a place to sleep, but what they get from each other is just so important to the healing process,” she said. “Research shows that when families stay together, they heal faster, so our goal is to keep families close.”

Since it opened in 2007, the Birmingham RMH has provided lodging and at least one free meal per day to the families of children being cared for at either Children’s of Alabama or University Hospital. Both are only one block away.  

Groundbreaking for the project is set to start in early 2017, and the expansion is projected to take 10 months to complete. Williams Blackstock Architects is designing the expansion, and Brasfield & Gorrie is the general manager for the construction. 

To donate or learn more about the Healing Together Campaign, go to rmhca.org/expand or contact Kathy Robson at Kathy.robson@rmhca.org or 638-7258.