Illinois-based AbbVie stepped up to the plate and delivered when it came to supporting the families of children battling serious illnesses who require extended hospitalization.
Illinois-based AbbVie stepped up to the plate and delivered when it came to supporting the families of children battling serious illnesses who require extended hospitalization. The pharma company donated $100 million to Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC).
The donation was the single-largest gift in the history of the RMHC. The donation was announced this week at the Ronald McDonald House Charities International Conference in Chicago.
The AbbVie donation will be able to provide housing and other services for pediatric patients and their families during extended hospital treatments across the United States. The $100 million donation will be used in 26 states and will help to “build family-centered spaces and more than 600 new guest sleeping rooms” at 32 Ronald McDonald Houses. AbbVie said the donation will provide for approximately 230,000 additional night stays for pediatric patients and their families each year. It will allow the different RMHC chapters to meet increasing demand and serve more families, the company said in its announcement. Additionally, the $100 million donation will be used to provide meals, groceries, laundry services, parking, classrooms and playrooms at the RMH facilities.
The Ronald McDonald House in Peoria, Ill. said it received $3.3 million from the AbbVie gift that will be used to support the construction of new Peoria house that has a price tag of about $7 million. The Ronald McDonald House in Houston snagged $3.5 million from the donation to support its “Behind Every Door” capital campaign, the Houston Business Journal reported. The funds will help with the renovation of the Houston Ronald McDonald House.
Sheila Musolino, president and chief executive officer of RMHC, said her organization currently is only able to serve a small percentage of pediatric patients’ families who need the group’s service. Musolino said the “extraordinary gift from AbbVie” will help the organization move closer to its goal of providing assistance for more families of pediatric patients during those difficult experiences.
Laura Schumacher, AbbVie’s head of external affairs, general counsel and corporate secretary, noted that parents who have a child with a serious illness are going through an exceedingly difficult trial.
“Our donation is grounded in the shared belief that families should have the necessary resources to care for a hospitalized child, along with the support to strengthen their well-being and resiliency during a challenging time,” Schumacher said in a statement.
In its announcement, AbbVie said the $100 million donation to RMHC is part of a larger pledge to nonprofit organizations that support children with illnesses, as well as the people who care for them. AbbVie said the donation is also a reflection to its commitment to help families across America thrive. IN all, AbbVie anticipates making about $350 million worth of donations to various charities. Earlier this year the company donated $50 million to Habitat for Humanity International and another $50 million to Direct Relief for disaster relief in Puerto Rico.
