Close for Christmas
Childhood illness steals vital time with family. This Christmas, you have the power to give it back.
Your gift gives regional families the comfort of staying close this Christmas, even during the most uncertain times of their lives.
Imagine a family gathered together for Christmas. The kids are playing, the table is full and laughter fills the room.
Now imagine a similar family who won’t be together this Christmas. They face an impossible choice: stay near during treatment and face crushing accommodation costs, or be separated by hundreds of kilometres just to stay financially afloat.
This Christmas, you have the power to change that.
Your donation will help families stay close to their child during treatment, giving them the comfort, connection, and care they need.
Baljit just donated $39.48- Michael just donated $1,015
- Jacki just donated $56.24
- Emanuele just donated $54.12
- Bich just donated $56.24
- lindy just donated $104.18
- Mike just donated $54.12
- Wei Lin just donated $20
- Bronwyn just donated $100
- Donald just donated $56.24
- Laura just donated $88.66
- Ian just donated $106.12
- David and Judith just donated $54.99
- Monique just donated $2
- Roxy just donated $5
- Gab just donated $2
- Roxy just donated $10
- Monique just donated $1
- Monique just donated $2
- Monique just donated $2
Give the gift of togetherness for families who need it most this Christmas.
Our Goal
Help us raise $100,000 by 23rd December to keep families close this Christmas.
How you can help
Donate to give families a home away from home to be comfort of being close when it's needed most.
Our Impact
Our house is open 365 days a year supporting 25 families each night.
$37
Helps us keep our House stocked with essential food and household items
$52
Provides two families with toiletries, linen and transport to and from hospital
$98
Pays for two hours of tutoring for children who are too ill to go to school
$190
Goes towards one nights accommodation and a comfortable rest for a family
440kms from home, but never far from family.
Meet 3 strong girls, Emma, Lucy and Joan.
“I couldn’t afford accommodation for that long. Knowing we had a place to stay took a huge weight off my shoulders.”
Suddenly, Emma, a single mum, was far from home, overwhelmed and with no idea how she’d keep her family together during Lucy’s treatment.
That’s when a hospital social worker told her about Ronald McDonald House Adelaide. It became their home for the next eight months.
Without the House, Emma says she simply wouldn’t have managed. The cost of accommodation for nearly a year would have been impossible. But more than that, the House gave her daughters Lucy and 7 year old Joan, the chance to stay close when they needed each other most.
While Emma and Lucy spent long hours at the hospital, Joan found comfort in the playground, in the kitchen with other families, and in the teddy she held tight whenever her sister was away.
Emma, Lucy and Joan’s story is a powerful reminder: when the unthinkable happens, families need to be together. And with your help, we can make sure they are.
Emma and her girls Lucy and Joan love their adventures in their home town of Mt Gambier.
Emma, Lucy & Joan found comfort in the friendships they formed with other families staying at the house, making the hardest days feel a little lighter.
Help families feel less alone this Christmas.
The need is growing, and we need your help.
Thanks to recent renovations with Bella Build & Design, we’ve added five new rooms to the House. That means we can now welcome 140 more families every year just like Emma’s, who need a safe place to stay close to their child’s hospital.
But with more families comes more need. Your donation today will help us meet this growing demand and make sure no family is turned away.
“Without donors, none of this would be possible”, Emma says.
Ronald McDonald House South & Central Australia doesn’t receive government funding. Around 80% of the support comes from people like you.
Emma says: “From the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank you. You’ve made this journey easier, and we’ll never forget it.”
Will you help another family like Emma’s today?
Because no child should face the hospital alone.
Lucy and Beau, two brave young friends, sharing a cuddle as they both undergo treatment for cancer.
There are so many ways you can keep families close this Christmas
Keep our House wish list for families in mind on your next shop.
