Phoning Home is Easy, Even When Home is Overseas

The Ronald McDonald House is a home away from home for the families of children undergoing treatment for cancer or other serious illnesses at hospitals in the Texas Medical Center. Many patients and families from around the world stay at the House for months as children receive much-needed care. Being away from family and familiar surroundings often results in homesickness.

To help international families stay in touch with their relatives back home, Ronald McDonald House has initiated an International Phone Card Program. Each week, families receive a 20-minute international phone card. This allows them to let their loved ones at home know about the progress of their child’s treatment, talk to relatives who were unable to travel to Houston, and helps to ease the families’ sadness of being homesick.

The phone card also helps relieve some of the financial burden families may feel while paying for their children’s treatment, says Melissa Garlington, Ronald McDonald House director of development.

"Calling overseas is expensive. In this day and age, families are able to correspond through e-mail, but nothing can replace the sound of a loved one’s voice offering encouragement during this difficult time in their lives."

Ronald McDonald House is able to offer the International Phone Card Program through a grant from the Houston Junior Woman’s Club. The program costs approximately $20,000 each year.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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