AstraZeneca employees set volunteer record at Ronald McDonald House

Sick children from all over the country are referred to Queen Silvia's children's and youth hospital. At the Ronald McDonald House, which is right next door, their families get to stay together during stressful periods of treatment, whether the hospital stay spans a few days, weeks, months or longer. After an extensive expansion, the house can now have up to 41 families living here at the same time. During a year up to 900 families stay in the house.

Ronald McDonald House is a non-profit foundation with the purpose of being “as close to a home you can get, as close to a hospital you can be”. In order to create a calm and safe place, volunteers help the organization to support the foundation and their families by making sure the facilities are in good shape.Through Airbnb.org, individuals and companies can offer part of their house or apartment in a safe and quick way during two to four weeks, which will give the responsible Swedish authorities some extra time to find appropriate longterm accommodation.  

Save the Children are responsible for matching the families in need with suitable accommodation, and together with City Mission also match families with volunteers who can support with contacts at public authorities and schools, and deal with safety, trauma and healthcare issues – where needed.

In order to create the feeling of a home that they aim for, the foundation is dependent on volunteers helping out with baking cinnamon buns or groups helping them with practical things in the garden or inside the house. The groups are often in the size of 10-15 people, so when AstraZeneca visited with 24 people, it was a new record.

“The volunteers at the Ronald McDonald House make a huge effort for our families who struggle with seriously ill children. They can come out into the garden here and everything is shiny, fresh and looking brand new. It's an incentive to get out and enjoy a lovely garden. So it really means a lot to us. Getting help from volunteers really makes it easier for us as we are a limited staff. It adds an extra silver lining for the families”. – Bodil Frölen, Manager at Ronald McDonald House.

On the first day of September, 24 employees from AstraZeneca visited the house to volunteer. During the day they helped the organization to paint a play house, cutting grass and removing weeds, cleaning furniture as well as renting a trailer to drive garbage to the recycling station and clean the house car.

We are continuosly updating the volunteer portal with group activities. Follow this link to view available group activities. You can always choose from hundreds of individual volunteering opportunities. Just go to Alla uppdrag to find your next mission!