Ronald McDonald House launches emotional campaign; aims to serve 1.2M families by 2030

When a child faces a serious medical crisis, families confront an impossible choice: Stay by their child's bedside or return home to work, care for siblings and maintain some semblance of normal life. For decades, Ronald McDonald House has provided a vital alternative, yet many Americans don’t quite understand what the organisation does beyond offering a place to sleep. 

To help rectify this, Ronald McDonald House unveiled its first global brand campaign on Wednesday, marking a strategic shift for the organisation as it works to modernise and significantly expand its reach. The Family Stays campaign, made in collaboration with DDB Chicago, reintroduces audiences to the full scope of services provided to families navigating their child's medical treatment, from housing and transportation to meals, education and psychosocial support.

In a 90-second hero film, the audience follows a family on their way to the Ronald McDonald House, where they are immediately welcomed by the residing community. Between shots of understandably worried parents are glimpses of the organisation’s services, such as meals and a built-in support system for families.

The campaign takes an intimate approach to storytelling, featuring authentic letters written by Ronald McDonald House families — a longstanding tradition within the organisation’s nearly 400 houses and 300 hospital-based family rooms worldwide — as well as their voiceovers.

“At Ronald McDonald House, we understand the importance of putting families at the heart of their care,” said Joanna Sabato, chief marketing and communications officer at Ronald McDonald House. “The Family Stays campaign beautifully honours families’ courage while showing the world that Ronald McDonald House is more than a place to physically stay — it’s a place to stay supported, connected and cared for.”

A bigger house

Family Stays arrives at a critical time for the organisation. A recent study in the Journal of Community Health revealed that Ronald McDonald House provides about 87% of all temporary housing for families with hospitalised children in the U.S., yet the organisation currently only scratches the surface of the global demand for these kinds of services. 

“We believe we’re only meeting about 35% of global demand around the world,” global president and CEO Katie Fitzgerald shared with Campaign. “We are the main provider of this service, yet we’re not meeting near the demand levels that we believe exist globally."

To address this gap, Ronald McDonald House has set an ambitious target: doubling the number of families served from 600,000 annually to 1.2 million by 2030. According to the organisation, achieving this will require completing 403 projects in Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and India (the country’s first house recently opened in Mumbai), including 144 new houses, 51 house expansions, 205 new family rooms and three family room expansions. By 2034, the organisation projects demand will reach 2 million families per year. 

Fitzgerald and the team hope that digging into the organisation’s many services outside of the stay will engage donors and volunteers to recommit to the mission while highlighting the inherent urgency of community support. 

“We provide transportation to and from the hospital. We provide meals. We provide education and classrooms inside our houses so child patients and their siblings don’t fall behind in school,” said Fitzgerald. “We provide case management and psychosocial services so families can access the benefits that are available to them all around the world.”

The campaign worked with renowned documentary photographer Isadora Kosofsky. She stayed at houses and interacted with the families to capture intimate imagery that reflected both the families’ struggle and resilience.

The campaign, which launches alongside a refreshed brand identity announced earlier this year, will run in the U.S., Canada, Italy and India with the ad spots airing on broadcast (PSA, donated media), streaming/digital and social across the U.S. and Canada.