Companies ‘adopt’ rooms at Mesa Ronald McDonald House

MESA, Ariz. — Volunteers are spending the next few days getting the new Ronald McDonald House ready for guests.

The house at Banner Cardon Children’s Medical Center will be the third Ronald McDonald House in the Phoenix area, and will give families a much-needed place to stay.

“What we try to call the Ronald McDonald House is a home away from home for our families while they try to get medical care for their children,” said Nancy Roach of Ronald McDonald Charities.

The house will have 17 bedrooms for 17 families. It also has a kitchen, living and dining rooms, a computer room and a children’s play area.

Companies and groups from around the Valley are stepping in to help by ‘adopting’ the 17 bedrooms as well. The companies are painting and furnishing the rooms with beds, furniture, televisions and other comforts.

Rich Mainey, store manager of the Target Supercenter at 99th Ave. and Lake Pleasant Parkway was found painting one of the two rooms that Target has adopted.

“We’re painting the room, so that it can have that ‘home’ feeling when the families come in,” said Mainey.

When asked to describe the color, Mainey joked that “It’s red and khaki,” which is the same colors that Target employees wear while on duty. “(The families) will have a little bit of Target when they come in to our rooms.”

Roach said that families can stay for $15 a night, but that no one will be turned down if they can’t pay. She added by staying at the home, they will be with other families who also have kids in the hospital and can relate to what they’re going through.

“They’re able to talk to other families, gain moral strength, and the ability to face a new day sometimes,” she said.

The new Ronald McDonald House is scheduled to open on Nov. 10.