A Place to Call Home: MVE Designs a Ronald McDonald House in Orange, CA

Often children and families must travel great distances to get the medical attention they require. The Ronald McDonald House program provides a "home away from home" for families of critically ill children receiving treatment at hospitals around the world. Depending on the illness, the in-hospital treatment may last one day, one year or longer. For these children's families, accommodations can be hard to come by. Options are often limited to costly hotels or uncomfortable hospital chairs. The Ronald McDonald House provides a comfortable, supportive alternative that serves as a temporary residence near the medical facility where family members can sleep, eat, relax and find support from other families in similar situations.

This year, MVE is proud to participate in The Ronald McDonald House program by providing pro bono architectural design services to create a new Ronald McDonald House in Orange, CA. This project will be the newest and the sixth Ronald McDonald house in Southern California and will serve as "home away from home" for families in distress. The project designed by MVE is a 7,000 square feet, two-story detached house. The home consists of individual living areas for ten separate families with common food preparation and dining areas, office and recreational spaces.

The design effort for this project is lead by MVE Principal Darin Schoolmeester. "As someone who has had young children in intensive care, I have a special place in my heart for this organization and what it does for families in need during troubling times. MVE is proud to provide services for this organization as well as the community it will serve," says Schoolmeester.

The first Ronald McDonald House opened in Philadelphia in 1974. Currently, there are more than 265 Ronald McDonald Houses in 30 countries and regions including: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Puerto Rico, Romania, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Venezuela, United Kingdom, and the United States.

Since inception, the Ronald McDonald House program has helped more than 10 million families and offers more than 6,000 bedrooms worldwide are available for families every night. More than 30,000 volunteers donate over one million hours of their time each year help to keep the Homes alive and thriving.