A history of the Ronald McDonald House of Indiana, 1980-2004

Abstract

On October 18, 1982, the Ronald McDonald House of Indiana (RMHI) opened near downtown Indianapolis on the campus of Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI), located within walking distance of the prestigious Riley Children's Hospital. The Ronald McDonald House (RMH) concept represented an almost perfect intersection between philanthropy and families in need. Creating the RMHI offered the opportunity for individuals, corporations, and benevolent organizations to come together and build a "home-away-from-home" for the families of sick children. When the RMH idea arrived in Indianapolis in the late 1970s, a group of collaborators representing the McDonald's corporation and restaurant owners, Riley Hospital, IUPUI, and the Indianapolis community banded together to make it a reality. On October 18, 1982, after nearly three years planning, fundraising, and construction, the RMHI's advocates and their supporters celebrated the successful opening of Indiana's only RMH. After this momentous occasion, the RMHI's board of directors and their community and corporate partners worked throughout the 1980s and 1990s to sustain, operate, and expand the home they created for the families of seriously ill children receiving treatment at Riley.