Ronald McDonald House Charities Greater Houston — Local services in Houston

I am writing this review for my daughter. She is having a very difficult pregnancy and she and her husband, who is a United States Marine, had to relocate from South Carolina to Houston to be close the Texas Children's Fetal Center. She tried contacting the RMH several times and finally got a call back the night before they were to arrive in Houston. Since they did not hear from them, they had to make other arrangements to stay in a hotel. After staying in a hotel a few nights, they decided to go ahead and give the RMH a try. Upon checking in, my daughter was made to feel unwelcome because she has a seizure alert dog and was told that she would not be allowed in certain common areas of the house and that she should have told them about her service dog previous to checking in. This is a medical necessity for my daughter and he goes everywhere with her. They are together 24/7, and the only place he has not been with her is in the Operating Room when she had brain surgery. Anxiety is a trigger for her seizures, so we had to find somewhere else for them to stay for an extended time, as they will be having to stay close to the hospital for possibly several months. I think the staff here needs to be educated on different types of dogs such as Therapy dogs, Emotional Support dogs, and Service Dogs. A little compassion was expected, but her sweet family was made to feel unwelcome...

It's a nice place. At some point in high school, my sisters volunteered here in with other students from the school we went to. They'd go there Sunday mornings. I volunteered too at the beginning of my freshman year but it was only for about a month I think. All we did was clean the place. Don't get me wrong, I had no problem volunteering there or with the work we did there. I just think it wasn't for me. I didn't know anybody there and I didn't talk to anyone except with some of the children.

They had a cool rec room too! A pool table, a juke box, a TV and some video games. I think they also had arcade machines there too. Still remember the last day I was there like I think it was November 2007. I was playing pool with this kid from Hawaii who used to come by the place. Man he had skills! A boy that young sure knew how to play pool. I didn't know how to play so that's how he won. Woulda loved to have had a rematch with the little guy, but he was moving back to Hawaii, and I decided not to volunteer there anymore.

I still drive by the place sometimes and think of my brief time volunteering there. I can't complain and I don't have any regrets from...

I can't say enough amazing things about this place. They were my home away from home while I recovered from a c-section and my daughter was in the NICU (she later passed but that's neither here nor there). They set us up with a counselor to get us talking to someone immediately. They take care of the families that are all there for medical reasons with hot meals/ family space. They have designated spaces for families to put food in fridges and pantry areas. They have a "suggested" price to pay but only if you can - and even when I handed them my card info because, despite leaving with such a bad outcome, I could afford it, they insisted I didn't need to pay (and I still insisted that I did because I COULD afford it and it was only right). Any time i go to McDonald's now, I ALWAYS round up my total to go to Ronald McDonald house charities. If I'm back in Houston for a trip, I try to stop by with donations. They do amazing things for people going through really...