22ND ANNUAL MAC TONIGHT GALA BENEFITS LOS ANGELES RONALD McDONALD HOUSE®

The Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House® (LARMH) is hosting its 22nd annual Mac Tonight Gala  to benefit the LARMH, a program of Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Southern California (RMHCSC).  The event, hosted by General Hospital's Sean Kanan, will raise money and awareness for its programs and services. LARMH provides a "home-away-from-home" for families with critically ill children. The gala hosted at the renowned Beverly Wilshire Hotel will include a dinner, cocktail reception, live and silent auction, dancing and live entertainment. Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House® opened in 1980, two blocks from Children's Hospital Los Angeles. It offers low-cost, and often free, temporary housing for families who travel long distances while their children receive treatment at nearby medical facilities. A unique feature of the House is its long-term housing wing designed to meet the special needs of bone-marrow transplant patients who require extensive hospital stays, ranging anywhere from two to eight months. Since opening, the House has welcomed more than 20,000 families from more than 40 countries with capacity to comfort 75 families per night.  RMHCSC provides comfort, care and support to children and families in Southern California through several programs including: six Ronald McDonald Houses; two Ronald McDonald Family Rooms, an oasis inside the hospital for parents with children in the pediatric and neonatal intensive care units; Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times®, a free, medically-supervised, sleep-away camp where children with cancer can process their diagnosis and restore their self-esteem; a scholarship program for graduating high school seniors; and a community grants board, which provides much-needed funding to local nonprofit organizations.