Ronald McDonald House Charities Awards More Than $2.2 Million to Support Children and Pediatric Care Around the World

OAK BROOK, IL--(Marketwired - Jan 27, 2015) - The global office of Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) recently awarded $2,221,526 through its Global Grants program to nine organizations focused on directly improving the health and wellbeing of children. The investments further the impact of the Charity by moving dollars quickly to organizations that work with vulnerable populations to help solve some of the toughest issues in pediatric care.

The Global Grants projects are centered on healthcare and literacy training, acute emergency care services, and mental health services that improve children's health, in sustainable, measurable ways. These investments will impact more than 2,000,000 children across the world. The following organizations received RMHC Global Grants:

• American Academy of Pediatrics
  Teaching neonatal resuscitation techniques in resource-limited areas of Africa through its "Helping Babies Breathe (HBB)" program. The goal is to have at least one person skilled in neonatal resuscitation at the birth of every baby benefitting 1,000,000 children.
• Burma Humanitarian Mission
  Training and equipping backpack medics who administer healthcare services to 14,000 children annually in the conflict zones of northern and eastern Burma, via 10 backpack medic teams.
• Carolina For Kibera 
  Providing health education training to Community Health Workers and bridging the gap between health facilities and the community benefiting 5,000 children and decreasing childhood mortality rates in Kibera.
• Global Emergency Care Collaborative
  Training non-physician clinicians to provide acute, emergency care services that could save the lives of approximately 1,200,000 acutely ill and injured children in Uganda.
• National Children's Alliance
  Providing access to Evidence-based Mental Health Assessment for Abused Youth ensuring that 500 abused children with mental health needs in Mississippi receive services specifically targeted to their trauma symptoms.
• Partners in Health
  Transforming child health in rural Haiti by enhancing nursing training and quality to develop nurse leaders and educators, impacting the lives of 136,000 children.
• Reach Out and Read 
  Ensuring kindergarten readiness for 3,000 children in the U.S. in the form of individually tailored early literacy advice and new, age-appropriate children's books through its "Rx for School Success Project."
• ReSurge International
  Training medical trainees in the "ReSurge International in Vietnam: Advanced Surgical Training (ReVAST)" program that will provide reconstructive surgeries to approximately 365 children in Vietnam next year and train 18 new physicians who will treat more than 5,400 children within the next five years.
• Seva Foundation
  Preventing blindness and restoring sight for 32,000 Cambodian children through community-based eye care education and medical eye services in partnership with the Angkor Hospital for Children.

"For 40 years, we have worked to bring people together to find solutions that strengthen children and families during difficult times," said RMHC President and CEO J.C. Gonzalez-Mendez. "There are children around the world that do not have access to the vital resources needed to support their health. We're privileged to work with nine organizations this year that are helping to solve that issue and making a meaningful difference in the lives of millions of children."

In the last 13 years, the Charity has awarded nearly $100 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, helping to extend its reach and impact around the world. Next year's Global Grants cycle will be open in July. For more information, visit the RMHC Global Grants page at: http://www.rmhc.org/grants.

About Ronald McDonald's House Charities
Ronald McDonald House Charities® (RMHC®), a non-profit, 501 (c) (3) corporation, creates, finds and supports programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children. Through its global network of 300 Chapters in more than 62 countries and regions, its three core programs, the Ronald McDonald House®, the Ronald McDonald Family Room® and the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile®, and millions of dollars in grants to support children's programs worldwide, RMHC provides stability and vital resources to families so they can get and keep their children healthy and happy. All RMHC-operated and supported programs, enable family-centered care, provide a bridge to quality health care, are a vital part of the health care continuum and give children and families the time they need to heal and cope better together. RMHC is the 2014 Harris Poll EquiTrend® Social Services Non-Profit Brand of the Year.