Ronald McDonald House and Junior League of Hamilton-Burlington

In 1987, McMaster University Medical Centre (now McMaster Children's Hospital) was designated a Children's hospital for infants and children who are critically ill. Dr. Peter Dent, who initiated the application for a Ronald McDonald House (RMH) in Hamilton, was Chair of the Pediatrics Department at the time.

After Dr. Dent involved the Junior League, a feasibility study began under the leadership of JLHB member Nancy Ferris. Nancy went on to become the House’s first president. JLHB pledged $100,000 to RMH’s capital campaign over a four-year period.

League members participated in numerous done-in-a-day projects. The RMH Design Committee, chaired by Sandy Gowans, together with the National Council of Jewish Women, secured nearly half a million in donations. JLHB ran the first open house and fundraised in the community for the $3.5 million capital campaign. The JLHB helped provide the energy, commitment, skills, resources and dedication to make "the house that Love built" a reality in Hamilton.

The Hamilton house, which opened on April 16, 1993, serves communities within Brant, Haldimand-Norfolk, Niagara, Waterloo, Wellington, Dufferin, Halton, Hamilton Wentworth, Peel, northern Ontario and even other provinces and other countries.

To visit the Junior League web site, click here.