The planned Ronald McDonald House in Westwood Village has received a $1 million donation to help fund its establishment, it was announced Thursday.
The gift from the Rafael and Sharyl Mendez Family Foundation will help support the creation of a Ronald McDonald House on the site of a former Hilgard Avenue boutique hotel, near UCLA Children’s Hospital.
Backers say the house will fill “a critical gap in children’s health care on the Westside.”
Ronald McDonald houses across the U.S. allow families to remain close to their children who are receiving treatment at nearby hospitals — at no cost to the family.
“We share a deep belief in the importance of this House and in the comfort it will provide =- a real home away from home for families who need to stay close to their child during lifesaving medical treatment,” said Nicole Mendez. “When I saw the opportunity to support the Westside L.A. House, I knew our family foundation was the right vehicle to make a truly impactful gift. Being able to give in that way, together as a family, made the gift all the more meaningful.”
A $50 million capital campaign to support the acquisition and transformation of a hotel in the heart of Westwood Village into a 33,000-square-foot, four-story Ronald McDonald House is underway, according to the project’s backers.
It would be the seventh Ronald McDonald House in the Southern California Chapter and serve families and children who are receiving treatment at UCLA Children’s Hospital, Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s and other Westside medical facilities. It will be large enough to accommodate as many as 33 families at one time.
“Thanks to good-hearted donors like the Mendez Family Foundation, no family who stays in our House will pay anything for lodging or an array of important family support services,” said Kelly Herman, executive director of RMH Westside LA. “We are deeply grateful to the Mendez Family, whose generosity will leave a lasting legacy of kindness in the community.”
In their honor, the rooftop lounge and the welcoming reception area in the new house will be named for the Mendez Family Foundation.
McDonald’s Corporation, the parent of the behemoth global burger chain, remains a partner in Ronald McDonald House Charities, but Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the corporate parent’s support amounting to 10-15% of its annual budget.