Our History

It started with “the House that Love Built”®. The first Ronald McDonald House® was opened in Philadelphia in 1974, to meet the needs of families who had no place to stay while their child was hospitalized. Due to the overwhelming success of Ronald McDonald Houses nationwide, Ronald McDonald House Charities was formed in 1984, to meet a broader base of children’s needs.

Chattanooga Ronald McDonald House Charities was established in 1990 with 14 guest rooms and was expanded to 26 rooms in 2000.  It is the 137th House to be built.  There are now over 270 Ronald McDonald Houses in the world.

The Ronald McDonald Family Room was opened in 1996 to accommodate the needs of families caring for loved ones in the hospital.  Since the program began more than 200,000 people have visited.

The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile has been re-engineered from a mobile dental clinic to a state-of-the-art medical program on wheels which serves children at three Bradley County schools. The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile is a partnership between Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Chattanooga, Children’s Hospital at Erlanger, SkyRidge Medical Center, United Way of Bradley County and Bradley County Schools Coordinated Health.  There are over 43 Ronald McDonald Care Mobiles now operating globally in 4 countries. Chattanooga's mobile unit was the 13th to be in operation.

Ronald McDonald House Charities Scholarship Program was launched in Chattanooga in 2002.  It offers 40, $1,000 academic scholarships annually, to area high schools’ seniors.  The RMHC scholarship program is funded in part through canister promotions at local McDonald’s restaurants and a matching grant from the global organization.