[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 13579-13580]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              RECOGNIZING RONALD McDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise to commemorate the 30th 
anniversary for two excellent charities in my home State of Kentucky, 
the Ronald McDonald House Charities. The Ronald McDonald House 
Charities of Kentuckiana in Louisville and the Ronald McDonald House 
Charities of the Bluegrass in Lexington both first opened their doors 
to needy families in 1984.
  Since then, each house has served more than 25,000 families. In the 
last year alone, more than 1,100 Kentucky families have spent nearly 
15,000 nights in the two homes operated by these charities. The two 
homes operate thanks to the generosity of Kentucky's McDonalds' owners, 
a broad swath of Kentucky businesses, countless individual donors, and 
the hundreds of thousands of hours given by tireless volunteers.
  For those of my colleagues who are not familiar with the Ronald 
McDonald House, it serves as a home away from home, at low or no cost, 
for the families of children who are hospital patients. At a time when 
a family is undergoing such a crisis as the illness of a child, infant, 
or newborn, the last thing these families need to worry about is 
finding housing near the hospital. The Ronald McDonald House eases that 
need by providing a home away from home for families of children 
receiving health care at area medical facilities while also lending 
support to other organizations that aid children. Today there are 125 
local chapters in 55 countries.
  The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kentuckiana first opened in 
Louisville in September 1984. Since their most recent expansion in 
2009, they feature 36 guest rooms, each accommodating up to four 
people.
  In 1992, the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kentuckiana helped 
pioneer one of the first Ronald McDonald Family Rooms in the world--a 
smaller version of a Ronald McDonald House located inside a hospital so 
a parent is only steps away from their seriously ill child. Today there 
are Ronald McDonald Family Rooms in three Louisville hospitals.
  The Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Bluegrass in Lexington 
similarly opened their doors in 1984, and have since expanded to 20 
rooms.

[[Page 13580]]

In 2005, through a partnership with the University of Kentucky, the 
Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Bluegrass began the Ronald 
McDonald Care Mobile to offer eastern Kentucky's children free 
professional dental care and education aboard a state-of-the-art mobile 
clinic. Centered in Hazard, KY, the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile cares 
for underserved children in their own neighborhoods and schools.
  Together, the Ronald McDonald House Charities of both Kentuckiana and 
the Bluegrass have accomplished a great deal for the Commonwealth and 
helped thousands of Kentucky families. Kentucky residents and 
businesses are proud to have supported them for 30 years, and I know 
will continue to do so for many years more. I want to thank the Ronald 
McDonald House Charities of Kentuckiana and the Bluegrass for serving 
as the home away from home for distressed families with a child in the 
hospital for 30 years. Kentucky is proud of these institutions and the 
many people behind them who make them work.

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