Friends of RMH, Inc. a non-profit Florida corporation, was chartered on February 7, 1979, for the purpose of establishing a Ronald McDonald House at Shands Teaching Hospital in Gainesville, Florida.  At first the group hoped to find an existing house to adapt, but when none could be found close to the hospital it was decided to build a new house from the ground up.  Groundbreaking was held on July 8, 1981, and exactly one year to the day, July 8, 1982, the Ronald McDonald House of Gainesville® opened its doors in 1982 with 18 rooms, mortgage free and without the help of a professional sports team.  Additionally, it was the first house specifically built from the ground-up to be a Ronald McDonald House.

The Ronald McDonald House of Gainesville® now operates 30 rooms, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  On average 1,000 families are served a year.  There is an average occupancy rate of 93% and often there is a waitlist that ranges from 5 to 15 families per day.

In 2002, along with its 20th anniversary of service, the Ronald McDonald House of Gainesville® celebrated the opening of the Ronald McDonald Family Room® located adjacent to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at the Shands Children’s Hospital. The Ronald McDonald Family Room® provides a peaceful respite 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with a small kitchen, private sleeping room and chairs, telephone, television computer and friendly volunteers. The Ronald McDonald Family Room® serves over 7,000 individuals, about 3,500 families each year.

Through the operation and funding of the two programs, the Ronald McDonald House of Gainesville® and the Ronald McDonald Family Room® in Shands  Hospital, the Ronald McDonald House Charities of North Central Florida has served more than 28,000 families from all of Florida’s 67 counties, plus 48 other states and 34 foreign countries.