Taking care of our families.

What is the Playroom Program?

As a critical partner to the core program of the Ronald McDonald House of Augusta, the Playroom Program provides a safe space filled with toys, games and video games, books, and other activities for the children and their siblings who stay at our house and receive treatment at the Children’s Hospital of Georgia.

There are two playrooms in our house: the first is a playroom for all our families to use and a second, the PressOn Playroom, designed specifically for kids who have suppressed immune systems.

What is the need?

At the Ronald McDonald House of Augusta, it is our goal to make our families feel at home while they are in our house, and while their child receives medical care. In most cases, the children spend the day at the hospital being treated and return to the Ronald McDonald House to await the next treatment. They frequently have brothers, sisters, and other family members with them to support them in treatment.

The Playroom Program provides a magical play space and a welcome escape for the kids to enjoy just being a kid. It provides critical times of bonding with their siblings or parents to play with their children and bring smiles to their faces.

The Georgia Cancer Center at Augusta University also provides clinical trials for kids with cancer and therefore, the Ronald McDonald House hosts many kids receiving chemotherapy and is highly prone to illness. Because of their suppressed immune systems, a separate playroom, named the PressOn Playroom, built because of support from the PressOn Fund, provides a positive pressure playroom stocked with clean, sterile toys. This makes sure that no child, no matter their condition, can be denied the joy of playing while in our house.