Ronald McDonald House in New Hyde Park marks 40 years of lodging and support for families with critically ill children

# What the milestone means

# What the House provides Rooms: 42 bedrooms now (started with 18 in 1986). Each room includes two queen beds, a private bathroom and shower, a TV, and children's books. Rooms can hold up to four guests.

Services: The House provides laundry service, free meals, and access to a communal kitchen for families who want to cook. Lodging is offered at no cost for short- and long-term stays.

# Volunteers and community support

Volunteer roles extend beyond logistics: staff and volunteers often provide emotional support to families facing medical crises. Leadership emphasizes volunteers as a sustaining element of operations.

# Leadership and perspectives

Lauren Hendel Frew, a board member and McDonald's owner-operator, highlighted the organization's growth and the upcoming expansion at Stony Brook as a continuation of that trajectory.

# Growth and the expansion project History: The House opened in 1986 with 18 bedrooms and an annual budget of $1 million.

House now has 42 rooms and raises more than $6 million annually.

Expansion: A new 30-room Ronald McDonald House is under construction next to Stony Brook Children's Hospital in Suffolk County. The project budget is $34 million, and the facility is scheduled to open in late 2027. Leaders have said growth is essential because the organization currently operates with a wait list for access.

# Concrete challenges Capacity constraints: Demand can exceed available rooms, which leads to a wait list.

Emotional strain: Staff and volunteers regularly work with families in acute stress, creating operational and emotional challenges for the organization.

Funding and construction: The Stony Brook project requires capital and sustained community support to reach the late-2027 opening date.

# Bottom line After four decades, the Ronald McDonald House in New Hyde Park has expanded its physical footprint and fundraising capacity and continues to rely on volunteers and community partners—particularly regional McDonald's franchises—to deliver free lodging and daily services to families of children in medical crisis. The new Stony Brook facility will add 30 rooms and aim to reduce wait-list pressure when it opens late in 2027.