The Ronald McDonald House of Madison (RMHC-Madison) launched a new “Room for Comfort” fundraising campaign that partners with local hotels to ensure families have access to housing during a child’s medical treatment.
The initiative aims to cover the costs of the anticipated 2,000 needed rooms in 2025.
RMHC-Madison provides a comfortable place to stay for families - just steps from the hospital. The foundation helps thousands of families each year across the United States, allowing them to focus on their children’s treatment rather than worrying about finding somewhere to stay.
To prevent families from being turned away or waitlisted, the foundation relies on partnerships with local hotels to provide additional accommodations when the House is full.
Last year, the Madison branch alone served almost 700 children and their families, according to Elise Zielicke, the organization’s director of development. More than 1,700 hotel rooms were provided through community sponsors like Exact Sciences and Numbers 4 Nonprofits — rooms that made a significant difference in keeping families close during treatment.
Among those families were Zanielle Robinson and Zacari Cox, whose son was treated in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). They expressed gratitude for the relief that RMHC provided to them while their son was being treated in the NICU.
Delores Shoemaker, whose daughter was treated for cystic fibrosis, shared similar gratitude.
“I can’t even put it into words. We couldn’t do this on our own,” Shoemaker told WKOW 27.
In recent years, Madison hospital systems have significantly expanded their pediatric care facilities, drawing in even more families than before. With the increase in referrals, RMHC-Madison expects the number of needed rooms to jump from 1,700 to over 2,000 in 2025, exceeding the program’s current capacity.
