One Team: Syapse Interns Visit Ronald McDonald House

Recently, the Syapse interns spent an afternoon at the Ronald McDonald House in the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital. Ronald McDonald House Charities® Bay Area (RMHC Bay Area) provides accommodations, meals, programming and support services, and more for the families of critically ill children. Many of these families travel long distances to San Francisco for care and have to stay for weeks, or even months, while their child undergoes treatment.

Daily no-cost meals provide families nourishment, meaningful time together, and financial relief. The Syapse interns prepared a hot homemade meal and served nearly 50 families. They also spent time with the parents, siblings, and grandparents of the children, building relationships and a sense of normalcy at a time when “normal” as the families know it doesn’t exist anymore.

We are grateful for the opportunity to support the important work that RMHC Bay Area is doing for these families and their children. At Syapse, we take pride in giving back to our local community, especially in an area close to our hearts and mission!

About Ronald McDonald House Charities®

When Philadelphia Eagles player Fred Hill’s daughter Kim suffered from leukaemia, her diagnosis prompted the team to raise more than $100,000 dollars to support her treatment hospital. This was met with much gratitude from her medical team, who prioritized family-centered care. The generosity compelled the team to request another $32,000 to fund a house in which families of sick children being treated in the hospital could get proper rest, away from the ward.

This request was met by Ed Rensi, an area McDonald’s manager. The company was using the Eagles players as part of an advertising campaign and offered to donate the proceeds from their ‘shamrock shake’ to the cause. In return Ed asked that the house be known as the Ronald McDonald House. So it was, that on October 15, 1974 the first Ronald McDonald House opened its doors. In the intervening years Ronald McDonald House Charities has spread across the world, forming new and independent branches in over 50 regions and countries.