Healthier Families – Healthier Lives

The Cause

Ronald McDonald House Charities® Southern Alberta is looking to implement the Healthier Families – Healthier Lives Program which will focus on providing coping mechanisms for parents with sick children. A personal trainer will visit the house biweekly to conduct boot camp for all fitness levels. These sessions will allow for a healthy release of energy to relieve frustration to help cope with the daily stress of having a child in hospital receiving long-term care. While the parents exercise, a children’s program for siblings residing in the House will run congruently to ensure that childcare is provided.

As a parent, a child is your number one priority. As a parent with a seriously ill child, they are your only priority. While living at Ronald McDonald House parents will rarely take time for themselves. During this time of crisis, a parent’s focus is on everyone else. It is essential that our organization offers programs to keep parents healthy.

At Ronald McDonald House, it is our goal to relieve stress rather than allowing it to manifest. Undue stress causes an unhealthy environment for families to survive in. Therefore, with support from the Field Law Community Fund, we will be able to provide needed equipment and supplies to implement the Healthier Families – Healthier Lives Program for families facing crisis today.

Who Will it Benefit?

The Healthier Families – Healthier Lives Program will benefit each family living at Ronald McDonald House. By providing this program to parents to relieve stress, they will be in better shape to care for their child. In 2017 303 families stayed with us at the House while their children were receiving care in the hospital. We have 24 family suites for our-of-town families available. We also offer day use of the House to local families. Therefore, different levels of fitness will be provided to families based on their length of stay to provide them with lifelong, healthy habits to carry into their lives upon their return home. An essential part of a family centered approach to health, our House helps minimize interruption to daily family life. By providing the families with a Healthier Lives Program this lowers anxiety for both the parents and their children.