History
The drive to establish a Ronald McDonald House® in Lubbock originated in 1981 by the Junior League of Lubbock. In 1983, a non-profit organization named Family House, Inc. was organized and the local co-op of McDonald's restaurants and the national McDonald's Corporation got solidly behind the project. The Junior League of Lubbock made the Ronald McDonald House the largest project in their 50 years' history and the community gave generously to raise construction funds. Texas Tech University leased one acre of ground to the House for $10, and ground was broken on September 14, 1985. After much work the Ronald McDonald House opened its doors to its first family on March 10, 1988. In the fall of 1996, eight bedrooms were added to the original nine guestrooms for a total of seventeen. The dining room was also expanded to accommodate the additional guestrooms.
During 2004, Ronald McDonald House of Lubbock and the Permian Basin joined together and became Ronald McDonald House Charities® (RMHC) of the Southwest. In 2006, RMHC of the Southwest opened a Ronald McDonald Family Room® inside Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, Texas. This Family Room is the world’s 100th Ronald McDonald Family Room!
RMHC of the Southwest opened the world's 101st and 102nd Ronald McDonald Family Rooms on July 27th, 2006. These are located inside Covenant Women’s and Children’s Hospital and University Medical Center’s Children’s Hospital, both in Lubbock, Texas.
As of January 1, 2007 RMHC of the Southwest took responsibility for the Big Country and Concho Valley areas of Texas where we have an active grant and scholarship program.
More good news! A Ronald McDonald Care Mobile® was delivered August 28, 2007 to serve the children of the Permian Basin area. The Care Mobile offers quality medical services free of charge to children who might not otherwise have access to healthcare. This 42’ mobile medical clinic serves approximately 3,000 children each year.
Although we serve families from across the country and around the world, our primary areas of service include Lubbock and the South Plains, the Permian Basin, the Big Country, the Concho Valley, and Eastern New Mexico. We have direct responsibilities in 69 counties which equates to 26% of the state of Texas and serve over 12,000 people each year.