Dr. Audrey Evans: A Woman Who Cared
“When you care for others, it’s infectious and it can spread to create change and extraordinary impact.”
Those inspiring words from Dr. Audrey Evans, co-founder of the first Ronald McDonald House, perfectly capture what Ronald McDonald House Charities is all about!
As a pediatric oncologist, Dr. Evans was a renowned figure in the world of childhood cancer. She also insightfully knew that “a family with a sick child is a sick family,” and she built a robust care model around this strongly held belief.
When a child is seriously ill or injured, the only thing a family should have to worry about is getting them the care they need. Each year, millions of families are faced with uncertainty when they must travel for the medical care their child needs. Where will they stay? How will they pay for it?
When a child is seriously ill or injured, the only thing a family should have to worry about is getting them the care they need. Each year, millions of families are faced with uncertainty when they must travel for the medical care their child needs. Where will they stay? How will they pay for it?
Dr. Evans’ envisioned a place for parents to stay close to the hospital while their seriously ill children were being treated. This vision helped build the first Ronald McDonald House. At the House, families could stay together, near the hospital, and be fully supported during the most difficult times of their lives.
That House served as a model for the care and support Ronald McDonald House still delivers today across the globe. Services have expanded to include Ronald McDonald House-affiliated programs in more than 60 countries and regions, focused on providing essential services that help remove barriers, strengthen families, and promote healing when children need healthcare.
Dr. Evans would have turned 99 on March 6, 2024. Though she passed away in 2022, we continue celebrate the extraordinary vision she shared, and her lifetime commitment to care. And we celebrate her legacy and impact every month, remaining forever grateful!
Bookmark Ronald McDonald House.org/Our History for monthly stories of Ronald McDonald House impact since 1974.
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These partners and their consistent steadfast support is essential to our ability to help families around the world feel at home…even when they can’t be.
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“The gift of being together just makes you feel like you’re going to be okay.”
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