BOB GWALTNEY / Courier & Press Ronald McDonald House architect Tom Blythe, of Hafer and Associates, points out some of the features to his wife Donna as they tour the house after the ribbon cutting on Thursday.

EVANSVILLE — Over the next year, the 10 bedrooms of Evansville's Ronald McDonald House are expected to shelter up to 1,000 families who have critically ill or injured children in area hospitals.

That was the estimate of Kathy Scheller, executive director of Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ohio Valley Inc., who attended a ribbon-cutting Thursday for the $2.8 million facility on the city's East Side.

Located at 3540 Washington Ave., adjacent to St. Mary's Medical Center campus, the house is scheduled to open Jan. 18.

In addition to lodging, it will provide families with home-cooked meals and children's playrooms. An outdoor playground is available in a courtyard. Families will be asked to pay $10 a night for lodging, but if they cannot, the fee will be waived, Scheller said.

In addition to its private bedrooms, the house has a community room for children and families receiving brief medical care but not staying overnight, she said.

Before conducting a tour of the building Thursday afternoon, Scheller addressed the approximately 100 people, many of whom were donors, gathered outside the main entrance of the home.

Scheller said donations for construction and operation of the house were received from area businesses and families that have children suffering from illnesses currently or in the past.

"What I really appreciate are all the stories that I've heard along the way," she said. "It's not just a beautiful building; it's a building full of beautiful stories."

Evansville is regarded as one of the smallest communities to have a Ronald McDonald House.

On Thursday, Liz Lewis and a handful of other members of the Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville visited the home with donations in hand.

Lewis carried a toy shopping cart filled with smaller toys, along with a Mr. Potato Head doll, books, board games and Barbies.

"We just wanted to be able to give the kids that will be staying here something to take their minds off of their illnesses," she said.

Source: Courier & Press