Initial efforts to build a Ronald McDonald House® in Memphis began in the early 1980s when local McDonald’s owners/operators, led by Saul Kaplan discussed the possibility of a Ronald McDonald House® in Memphis.
When in 1983, Dr. Joe Simone became the medical director of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, a group of McDonald’s operators met with St. Jude administrators to formally discuss the formation of the Ronald McDonald House® of Memphis, a program of Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Memphis. Construction began in 1990 and the house opened in September 1991.
Expansion
In the late 1990’s St. Jude announced plans for a major expansion and the demand for patient housing increased dramatically. In 1999 St. Jude officials asked the Ronald McDonald House® Board of Directors to consider expanding the House. The expansion was completed in 2000 and Ronald McDonald House® became more than twice its original size as 27 bedrooms were added to the original 24, providing a total of 51 bedrooms for our families.
Support
With support from friends such as ROCK 103, the Alpha Delta Pi Sorority, the FedEx Pilots’ Wives Association, and Buddy Up Fore Kids Golf Tournament, “The House That Love Built” now features a fitness room with state-of-the-art exercise equipment, a meditation room and a teen room with pool tables, gaming systems and lounge areas.
Nearly twenty years after opening, over 6,000 have made Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Memphis their “home-away-from-home”.
Click HERE to learn more about the history of Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Memphis.