Ronald McDonald House Charities

Ronald McDonald C.H.E.E.R.! (Children's Health Education Enrichment Resource) Rooms provide a fun, colorful, welcoming environment and an educational place for children to wait while their mothers receive prenatal care at UTMB Regional Maternal and Child Health Program Clinics. The non-clinical staff keep children occupied with age-appropriate mini-lessons in health, wellness & literacy allowing mothers to focus their attention on the health care providers giving them critical information about their own health and the health of their unborn child. There are RM C.H.E.E.R.! Rooms located in Katy, Conroe, Pasadena, and Pearland, Texas.See Schedule OIn 2022, a C.H.E.E.R.! Room was added at Star of Hope Mission, an organization supporting the homeless population, to provide parents a place to leave their children while participating in the Employment Readiness Program.

The Ronald McDonald Hospitality Carts at several area hospitals provide a much-needed respite opportunity for the families of hospitalized newborns. Family caregivers are sometimes considered a "secondary patient or a "hidden patient," also needing (but rarely receiving) self-care assistance in the form of food, comfort items, and a break from the child's bedside in order to provide adequate care to their child.