'World changing': Calgary’s Ronald McDonald House gets $1.25M donation
A Canadian energy company has donated $1.25 million to Ronald McDonald House Charities to help the non-profit organization create an additional 60 suites for families in need at its soon-to-be-opened Calgary location.
The donation from ARC Resources Ltd, presented Tuesday morning, will help cover costs for the Energy Wing of the new expanded facility being constructed adjacent to Calgary's existing Ronald McDonald House on West Campus Place N.W, which will open in 2025.
Once built, the new facility will increase the number of family suites available from 27 to 91, enabling more families than ever to stay close to their sick children without the additional financial and emotional burdens of seeking alternative accommodation.
"It's near and dear to our heart, with over half of our employees living where they would need to travel to receive pediatric services such as this," said Lisa Olsen, senior vice-president of people and corporate for ARC Resources.
"We're so proud to be part of making this donation and being part of the expansion."
The funding comes at a time where the Ronald McDonald House in Calgary already has a waiting list for dozens of families every single night.
Ashtyn Bruvold says her family has been eternally grateful for locations in both Edmonton and Calgary over the last three years.
The accommodations have especially been important for her four-year-old son Zebulun, who has a rare disease called Chronic Granulomatous Disease which prevents his body from fighting off fungal or bacterial infections.
Zebulun, 4, has Chronic Granulomatous Disease. (supplied) "He gets very sick very often and the only cure for this disease is a bone marrow transplant. With dealing with the disease, it comes with a lot of restrictions, everything poses a danger to him. So we were going for this cure in hopes that he can have a normal life."
"It’s scary for toddlers to experience medical trauma. To be able to have the togetherness here and not to have to worry about food, drink, transport… everything is taken care of here, and we feel so comfortable for everyone."
Zebulun’s two-year-old brother Zavier will now have his bone marrow transplanted to his older brother in an upcoming procedure.
"To be able to have this is world changing, you just get to focus on your kids and your family, and to know more families will be helped is amazing," Bruvold said.
In addition to increasing the number of family suites, the new facility will expand the kitchen area, common spaces and programming spaces to support the many needs of families traveling for paediatric care.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
Family of toddler found dead at small-town Ont. daycare no closer to answers after year of investigation
A year has passed since two-year-old Vienna Irwin was found on the property of a home-based daycare in small-town Ontario, but her family says they are no closer to answers of what happened that day.
Here's what every key witness said at Donald Trump's hush money trial. Closing arguments are coming
After 22 witnesses, including a porn actor, tabloid publisher and White House insiders, testimony is over at Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York.
More seniors are using homeless shelters. Here's why, according to experts
One of the country’s homeless shelters has seen an uptick in the number of people through its doors, including more older adults over 50.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Norway hands over papers for diplomatic recognition to the Palestinian prime minister
Norway on Sunday handed over diplomatic papers to the Palestinian prime minister in the latest step toward recognizing a Palestinian state, a largely symbolic move that has infuriated Israel.
Man or machine? Toronto company finds a way to determine how real audio clips are
The Toronto-based research arm of life sciences technology firm Klick Health has found a way to analyze voices in a manner that’s so granular, it can tell whether it's a person or an artificial intelligence-powered machine.
J.H. Tabaret statue at uOttawa vandalized
The statue of J.H. Tabaret at the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) has been vandalized, as a picture taken by CTV News shows red paint sprayed all over it.