On Dec. 10, McDonald’s launched Round-Up for Ronald McDonald House Charities, a new technology that makes it easier for customers to donate to RMHC by giving them the option to round up their purchase to the nearest whole dollar. This is a critical development to the charities’ fundraising goals as consumers have mainly become cashless in recent years and donations across the country dropped 15 percent last year alone. The technology will be available across the 14,000 McDonald’s restaurants nationwide.

RMHC has two locations in the Washington, D.C. metro area, including one at the local INOVA Fairfax Hospital (3312 Gallows Rd., Falls Church) that provides a “home away from home” to keep families together when their sick children are being treated.

For decades, customers have donated spare change via RMHC donation boxes in McDonald’s restaurants. Over the last 20 years, customers and local McDonald’s owner operators have donated more than $13.5 million to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Washington, D.C (RMHCDC) alone.

These donations are essential — specifically in Falls Church and Washington, D.C., as RMHCDC recently announced plans for a $5 million expansion project in 2020. The expansion will increase the number of guest rooms in its houses — a critical need as newly opened oncology treatment units and the creation of specialized disease centers at major area hospitals is expected to cause a rapid influx of families in need over the next 2-3 years.