36 thousand free overnight stays for parents and children annually: how the first Ronald McDonald House in Ukraine will work
10 November 19:42
The construction of Ukraine’s first Ronald McDonald House, a space where children undergoing treatment for illnesses can stay with their parents, will begin on the territory of the Ohmatdyt hospital in Kyiv. Halyna Solovey, director of the Ronald McDonald House Foundation in Ukraine, said this in an interview with Forbes, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
It will be a five-story building with an area of 3,500 square meters with 50 rooms for living, a kitchen, laundry, play areas, a cinema, a library, an art space, and psychological support rooms.
Every year, up to 2600 parents and children who come to Kyiv for treatment will be able to stay here. They will be provided with more than 36 thousand free overnight stays.
As the Foundation explains, the project has several goals. The most important goal is to create a friendly space for a sick child and his or her parents. After all, a survey conducted by the organization’s specialists showed that 98% of Ukrainian parents believe that being close to their child is critical for his or her recovery, but 41% do not have this opportunity due to hospital restrictions. The war has only increased the psychological and financial pressure on families, with many losing their homes or being separated by the fighting.
Another goal is to combine the resources of the state, business and the public sector and set a new standard of social responsibility in medicine.
Currently, the Foundation operates as a partnership: business provides resources and expertise, the state provides infrastructure, and communities provide trust. The key corporate partner is McDonald’s: from fundraising to coordination of construction and permits.
Halyna Solovey said that the project budget is about $10 million. Part of it has already been found: in particular, UAH 17.6 million was provided by the McDonald’s fast food chain in the first half of 2025. However, additional financial participation from Ukrainian business is needed for the center to start operating in 2027.
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Ronald McDonald House Foundation: what you need to know
The history of the Foundation began in 1974 with the desire of Kim Hill, a girl who was being treated for leukemia, to have her parents close by in the hospital, especially at night. Dr. Audrey Evans, together with McDonald’s and the Philadelphia Eagles (where Kim’s father played), built the first Ronald McDonald House near the hospital in Philadelphia. This was the beginning of an organization that has been supporting seriously ill children and their families around the world for 50 years.
Today, the network has more than 260 chapters in 62 countries and regions, and more than 152 thousand employees and volunteers are involved in its work. In Ukraine, the network was launched in 2016. The key area is the Ronald McDonald Family Rooms in six state regional children’s hospitals, which ensure that parents are present with their children during treatment. More than 50,000 families have used them; in wartime, these spaces were the only way for many to stay close to their children.
For eight years, the center has been consistently developing family-oriented medicine and conducting training programs for doctors.
In addition, since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, the Foundation has launched humanitarian initiatives: more than 100 projects have been implemented, 320 thousand food packages have been delivered to affected Ukrainians, 200 vacuum therapy devices, 420 vacuum aspirators and more than 30 units of expensive medical equipment have been delivered. The total amount of aid reached UAH 120 million.
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