Sharing the Love with our Community

About This Campaign

What A storytelling campaign

Why Awareness of the positive impact our Mission has

Where Participate on social media!

What family really means

On Family Day, we celebrate the people who stand beside us – the ones who show up in the hardest moments, who carry us when we can’t carry ourselves, and who remind us we’re never alone.

At Ronald McDonald House® South Central Ontario (RMH®SCO), we see everyday that there is no medicine stronger than family.

When a child is hospitalized, everything changes. Routines disappear, sleep becomes optional, and the future feels uncertain. In those moments, what families need most is to stay close to their child – and to each other.

“Staying close when your child is critically ill allows families to learn their child’s care faster, ask more informed questions, and be more involved in their child’s recovery. Being 5 minutes away rather than cities away makes every bit of a difference.” – The Rintjema Family

Closeness is not a luxury. It's essential.

When the unthinkable happens

No one can predict a medical crisis. Our House, Family Rooms and Care Carts in the hospital support families during moments that parents and siblings can’t plan for.

Heidi, a House volunteer, sees that firsthand, “Being able to sleep, eat, and have access to everything you need so close to the hospital allows families to focus on what’s important – the wellbeing of their child.”

When the stress of the commute, cooking meals, and additional costs fades, families can put their energy where it belongs.

But Ronald McDonald House is more than proximity. It’s a safe place when the world feels like it’s falling apart.

A safe place to fall

For many families, RMH®SCO is more than a place to stay.

For Emily Hammond, whose son Griffin was diagnosed with cancer more than 12 years ago, “Ronald McDoanld House was a safe place to fall, a safe place to heal, and a safe place to grow… and now, a safe place to give back!”

That sense of safety – of being held up during the most vulnerable time of your life – is something families never forget.

For families like the Emmersons, having RMH®SCO in their corner means having a second family for life. Family doesn’t end when the hospital stay does - for many, it continues to grow.

People Who make out House feel like home

Family at RMH®SCO isn't just the parents and siblings who stay with us.

It’s the volunteers serving warm meals at the House.

It’s a Care Cart rolling down the hospital hallway.

It’s the quiet reassurance of someone in the Family Room saying, “we’ve got you.”

“When families first come to the House, you see the weight lift of their shoulders,” says Sue, a volunteer at the House in Hamilton. “ takes away extra worries so families can focus on their child getting better. What a gift!”

“The focus at is to take care of parents like they are family, so they have the energy to take care of their kids,” says Lina, another House volunteer.

That’s what makes this place different. It isn’t just a building near a hospital – it’s a community built on care, compassion, and connection.

Share the love🫶

This Family Day, we are launching Share the Love, a yearlong storytelling campaign celebrating the people and the moments that make our RMH®SCO family whole.

Sharing these stories is one of the most powerful ways we can honour the love that fills our House everyday.

If you’re part of our Ronald McDonald House family – whether for one night or for many months – we invite you to share how our mission has impacted you🫶.

There’s no medicine stronger than family. We’re proud that Ronald McDonald House South Central Ontario can continue to be a place where family stays whole – today on Family Day, and all year long.