John Cobb (Calare, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Friday saw the opening of Ronald McDonald House in Orange which, while in Orange, is very much a regional facility. Back in 1985, when Joanne and Jeff Lewis built the first McDonald's in Orange and later the first one in Bathurst, they realised that there was a real need for the parents of children who came to Orange hospital to have somewhere to stay while their children were being cared for. In 2005, they quickly realised that Orange had the only serious medical centre west of the Blue Mountains and that something needed to be done. They held public meetings, met with council and in 2005 they started fundraising and spent 10 long years doing that. It would have been easy for Joanne and Jeff to pass it on when they sold out a couple of years ago, but they are still involved. They have seen this through. It is a magnificent achievement by the community of not just Orange but the whole region. People from outside Orange come and stay while their children are looked after. This was all done without government help, with local donations and fundraising. It is a credit to the people of the region. Since the end of April, 40 families have been able to use it. They have 150 trained volunteers and they need 200.