Walk for Kids and Ronald McDonald Heads to Long Beach

Walk for Kids, an annual 5k fundraising event led by Ronald McDonald House Charities will be heading to Long Beach next month.

Since 2010, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California has been supporting families of critically-ill children through this campaign. Around 10,000 families have been impacted through the annual two million dollars in funding from Walk for Kids. The goal of the 2022 fundraiser is to raise about four million dollars for local programs for families throughout Ventura down to Orange County.

The walk is a region-wide event, broken into four specific counties: Ventura County, Los Angeles County, the Inland Empire, and Orange County. Each event is designed to create a healing community amongst children and their families, providing a chance to build themselves with a renewed sense of hope, enthusiasm, courage, and joy.

Each county will have its own walk, for Long Beach, however, the event will take place on the first day of May at the Long Beach Convention Center. 

“It’s a family fun event. We are going to have different grand marshals at different sites than the walk itself with lots of fun activities for kids,” said Fatima Rodriguez, chief executive officer of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California.

According to the CEO, it takes an entire team, not just medical professionals but also the parents as well, that are instrumental to the success of a child’s physical wellbeing. The mission for the event and RMHC is to provide resources, such as housing, to families who have to venture out of their respective localities to access long-term health resources for their children. 

“Because for the families who are able to find a place to rest their head and get a good night’s sleep, it helps them to be able to make very critical health decisions for their children,” Rodriguez said.

In addition to the fundraiser, McDonalds’ restaurants across SoCal have started to raise awareness for Hearts for the House since Monday of this week. The program first opened its first house in October of 1974, with the aim of supporting families of ill children by providing them a home within close proximity to their local hospital.

Walk for Kids also sponsors Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times, the largest child oncology camp in the nation. 

For residents looking to contribute a donation to Hearts for the House, supporters can visit their website or visit any participating McDonald’s restaurant throughout Southern California to provide their donation.

Residents looking to participate in the Walk for Kids event in Long Beach, can sign up through the event’s website. Supporters can either be registered as individuals, join a team, or create one of their own for a specific child to represent. 

All in-person events will strictly adhere to local health guidelines and proof of full vaccination or negative COVID test taken within 72 hours of the event is required upon participation.

By Carter Williams II

Photo credit: Ronald McDonald House Charities Southern California