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We are sometimes asked what helps us deal with the often heart wrenching consequences of serious childhood sickness on a daily basis. Our answer, on top of the simple desire to help, is our heroes: stories of struggle, triumph and human emotion in the face of great life changes.

Miss World at RMH Randwick Golf Day

Miss World Australia Katie Richardson swapped her glamorous gowns for golf gear at the Ronald McDonald House Randwick Charity Golf Day and helped to raise more than $15,000.
The 21-year-old beauty took to the green at the annual fundraising event hosted at Bonnie Doon Golf Course in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs.

The money raised will go towards urgently needed renovations at Ronald McDonald House Randwick, a facility that provides a home away from home for more than 650 families each year whose children are being treated in nearby hospitals.

“It was a really nice fundraising idea as it got everyone out in a relaxed environment but, at the same time, they were raising money – it was a great idea and a great day,” Katie says.

Since being crowned Miss World Australia last year, Katie has organised numerous fundraising events for the facility, including a trivia night, fun run and family day at the House.

“I come from the Illawarra and it’s the regional areas that rely on the House,” she says. “When speaking with local business people, local families and friends, I found that because they’re that bit too far to travel to the hospital everyday, they’ve had to rely on the Randwick facility when their kids are in the Children’s Hospital.

“It’s awful to see families having to mortgage their houses or break up while one parent stays with a child and the rest of the family stays at home. Ronald McDonald House offers a way that the family can stay together.”

Kimberlee Green & Silly Socks

Netball star Kimberlee Green will be pulling up her silly socks as part of a novelty campaign to help seriously ill children get back on their feet. The Australian Diamonds and NSW Swifts player is urging schools around the country to join the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) Silly Socks 4 Sick Kids campaign.

The novelty campaign will help raise much-needed funds for the Ronald McDonald Learning Program, one of six major programs of RMHC.

“The Silly Socks 4 Sick Kids campaign is a fun way for school children to help other kids their age who are battling serious illness,” says Kimberlee, who plays Centre and Wing Attack for the NSW Swifts and Australian Diamonds teams. Students and teachers from schools participating in the campaign will don silly socks in exchange for a gold-coin donation for the charity.

“It’s a bit of fun for the kids but, at the same time, it’s helping a really good cause,” Kimberlee says. Kimberlee joins fellow Australian Diamonds’ team-mate Natalie Medhurst as Patron of the Ronald McDonald Learning Program.

“I’m really excited about the role and thrilled to be involved with such a great cause,” Kimberlee says. “When you meet the families and the kids who benefit from the charity it just tears your heart apart – they’re just such beautiful kids and they’re going through such a hard time, and their parents are just so amazingly strong.

“It’s great that Ronald McDonald House Charities can offer these families not only a place to go home to during their child’s treatment, but also a program to help build their kids’ confidence when they return to school.”
More than 500 children around Australia are currently enrolled in the Ronald McDonald Learning Program. Whether through the provision of professional development for teachers or one-on-one tuition for children, RMHC, through the Learning Program, is helping children who have suffered serious illness, or who live with chronic conditions, to catch up on missed schooling and, in the process, to have the same chances in life as their peers.