During International Family Week (April 28^th- May 2^nd) and only weeks before the world will recognize the UN-supported International Day of Families on May 15th, RMH-NY celebrates the incredible bravery of families like Edgar and Sirlene’s, who left everything behind in Paraguay to save their daughter Candela’s life. Their story reminds us that hope knows no boundaries and that…at Ronald McDonald House New York, every family belongs.

If love could be measured in generations, you’d find it in abundance in one particular suite at Ronald McDonald House New York (RMH-NY) on East 73^rd street in Manhattan. Inside those four walls are three hearts tethered tightly together: Marie, her son Mateo, and her mother, Ana Patricia. Three generations—grandmother, mother, and child—sharing a room, a journey, and a devotion that defies borders.

 By December 2018, when they moved into Ronald McDonald House New York (RMH-NY), the 95-room House on East 73^rd street that provides wraparound services to families with kids seeking treatment in NYC hospitals for cancer and other life-threatening illnesses, Cynthia "CeCe" Abi Samra—now known by her pen name CC Grey—had already been a steadfast pillar of support for her Aunt Amal Rababy Salem and her son, and CeCe's cousin, Jad.

At Ronald McDonald House New York (RMH-NY), we are constantly reminded that love truly has a way of growing on people. For Joseph and Rosa Luna, this love took root years ago, during some of the most challenging times of their lives.

At NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), where every beep from a machine holds weight, and each medical update tugs at the heartstrings of worried parents, one new mother, Natalie found herself navigating an emotional whirlwind. Her son, Marcellus, had been born prematurely and was fighting for his life. Caught in a storm of uncertainty and hope, Natalie discovered an unexpected sanctuary that would become her refuge—the Ronald McDonald Family Room at Elmhurst.

Emanuel and his family’s journey through pediatric cancer brought them face to face with unimaginable challenges including financial fears, family separation, and a cancer plaguing a seven-year-old boy that just seemed to keep growing. Like many other families navigating similar crises, they discovered that the support they needed extended far beyond medical care.