Bags of thanks
The net proceeds have totalled a £3 million donation to Ronald McDonald House Charities UK.
This generous donation is helping to run free ‘home away from home’ accommodation for families with sick children in hospital, including at the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital in Cardiff.
We think that’s five pence well spent. You can help us keep the Houses open by donating now
Step inside
Ronald McDonald House Cardiff, which opened in 2017, is a purpose-built House just a few minutes’ walk from Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital, with 30 en-suite bedrooms providing free accommodation to the families of children being treated at the hospital. There are also communal kitchens and living areas where families can spend time together away from the ward.
Take a look around…
Impact in action
Specialist medical care for children is often far from home. Providing a safe, comfortable, and welcoming place for families to stay for the duration of their children’s hospital treatment is vital.
In 2021, Ronald McDonald House Cardiff accommodated 346 families from across Wales and beyond. Families lived an average of 38 miles from the hospital and stayed an average of 13 nights, saving them thousands of pounds in accommodation and fuel costs.
Those McDonald’s 5p paper bags have really added up to have a lasting impact on families with children in hospital.
Amy lives with her children Lilly, 10, and Cameron, 14, and her partner Chris in Redbrook, Monmouthshire, 40 miles away from the hospital. Last year, Lilly went into hospital for what should have been a routine operation to remove a metal plate she’d had fitted after breaking her leg in 2016. However, complications during surgery left her in a critical condition and in intensive care for several days.
“When Lilly was admitted to intensive care, a nurse came to tell me I’d been referred to stay at the Ronald McDonald House. As a nurse, I’d seen the House before and knew all about it. Now I was experiencing everything from a different perspective, it was so nice to have the worry of where I was going to stay taken away from me. I couldn’t contemplate the possibility of going home and leaving Lilly an hour’s drive away. I don’t know how I would’ve coped. Staying in the House meant I could run across the road and be at Lilly’s bedside within moments.”
– Amy, mum to Lilly
Supportive staff
The Cardiff House is run by our incredible staff, led by House Manager, Emily Roux. The team is there to ensure the smooth running of the House and to provide support to families throughout their difficult journey of having a sick child in hospital.
“We’re very proud to be celebrating our milestone 5th birthday and the greatest present is reaching £3 million in bag tax donations, thanks to McDonald’s and its Franchisees and customers in Wales. Over the past 11 years, this generous donation has helped an estimated 7,500 families across the UK stay close to their sick children in hospital, which is just incredible. The last thing our families need to worry about is where to sleep, cook, wash and how they are going to keep the family together. I’m glad we’re here for them, so that they can be there for their children.”
– Emily Roux, House Manager
Thank you/Diolch
We are extremely grateful to have been chosen as the charity recipient of the bag tax levy in Wales, and we thank McDonald’s and its Franchisees in Wales, as well as McDonald’s customers, without whom this incredible amount wouldn’t have been raised.
The money raised has also helped to provide a regular, reliable income stream during the pandemic and it’s making a positive difference to thousands of families in their time of need.
70p from every pound donated is spent on running and developing houses
We operate from 14 NHS hospitals with more developments planned for the future.