“Two Houses Working Together”
“Our City Our House” has been the mantra for Chicago House A.C. since the team’s inception, and a community partnership with Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana (RMHC-CNI) ties the club to a charitable organization that embodies that mantra offering families in need so much more than a place to sleep and a meal.
Chicago House COO, Brian Koenig, knows all too well how important the services that Ronald McDonald provides to families are.
“Ronald McDonald House has been a home away from home for my family. Two of my three kids have had extreme medical conditions which provided us with the need to stay at the Ronald McDonald Houses near Lurie Children’s (Chicago), Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital (Winfield) and Advocate Children’s Hospital (Oak Lawn),” said Koenig. “Personally, this partnership is a way to help give back for the care the House continues to provide my family. We look forward to building this partnership and playing a vital role in helping families like mine the opportunity to stay close to their sick kids.”
One of the many fundraising events held annually is the Kicking For The House soccer tournament. “Ronald McDonald House reached out to me initially to connect my soccer specialty store, Soccer 2000, to an event called Kicking For The House. During these conversations, we connected some additional dots and resurrected a community partnership between Ronald McDonald House and Chicago House AC,” said Koenig.
The first opportunity for Chicago House to connect with Ronald McDonald House will be at the club’s Lamar Hunt US Open Cup match on Wednesday, March 22nd at Langhorst Stadium in Elmhurst. The team will wear an exclusively designed jersey featuring the RMHC-CNI logo on the front. These jerseys will be auctioned off for the charity at the end of the team’s tournament run. Additionally, half of the proceeds from advance ticket sales will go to RMHC-CNI.
“We wanted to partner with Chicago House because of Brian and his story,” said Jack Gilhooly, Associate Director of Corporate Sponsorships for RMHC-CNI. “I could talk all day about the charity and the good that it does, but it means so much more coming from somebody who has stayed with us and can speak to what the charity means to them.”
Personal connections and like-minded organizations are what the team at RMHC-CNI most looks for in partnerships. “After we met, I did a little research to find out what Chicago House is all about and the first thing that pops up on the homepage is ‘soccer with a social conscience,’ and that’s a priority for the House,” said Gilhooly. “We like to align with organizations that speak to and share our values as a charity, and Chicago House certainly fits that criteria. Soccer is a great game, it’s an important game and a lot of your athletes are hoping to become professionals, but you are growing them in many ways – not only their soccer skills but also as young men to appreciate the importance of philanthropy, charity and giving back.”
Each night RMHC-CNI accommodates up to 172 families through six local Ronald McDonald Houses keeping families close to each other so they can get better together. In addition, RMHC-CNI also operates three Ronald McDonald Family Rooms inside local hospitals, as well as two Ronald McDonald Care Mobile units. The Care Mobile program provides a fully equipped medical clinic on wheels that delivers free care directly to under-served, school-aged children right in their own neighborhoods. There are Ronald McDonald House Charities chapters throughout the United States and are in 43 countries around the world, but each chapter is run locally and relies upon fundraising to cover 70% of their annual operating expenses.
Access to medical care is at the forefront of the mission of the charity. They offer an opportunity for families to stay close to their critically ill children while they receive life-saving medical care. Prior to covid, RMHC-CNI provided 45,000 nights to families in Chicagoland, saving them close to 10 million dollars each year.
“McDonald’s is our founding and forever mission partner, and we are eternally grateful for the support we receive from them, but we still rely upon 70% additional revenue from other sources to support the mission, what we do and the support we give to the families,” said Gilhooly. “We are 100% privately funded, so we don’t receive government assistance. We are completely supported by individual and corporate donors and the tremendous support of the community we serve. We are grateful to be supported by organizations like Chicago House – an organization that aligns with the mission of the Ronald McDonald House, an organization that puts philanthropy and charity at the forefront and is willing to partner with us to spread the mission of the Ronald McDonald House. We are tremendously grateful for this opportunity.”
Later this summer, Chicago House will also take part in the charity’s Kicking For The House soccer tournament, as well as other events to be announced. For more information on the event please click here.
For tickets to the U.S.O.C. match visit the ticket page.
Sponsorship opportunities are available to donate blocks of youth tickets for the game for $1000 with half the proceeds benefitting RMHC-CNI. Contact brian@chicagohouseac.com for details.
To learn more about Ronald McDonald House Charities and to keep up with all of their events, provided are links to their website and social media accounts:
About Us: https://rmhccni.org/about-us/
Ronald McDonald House Program: https://rmhccni.org/our-houses-family-rooms/
Ronald McDonald Care Mobile: https://rmhccni.org/care-mobile/
Facebook: @Ronald.McDonald.House.CNI
Instagram: @rmhccni
Twitter: @RMHCCNI
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/690722/
