It was the Shamrock Shake that did it.

McDonald’s owners and operators in Philadelphia helped make the vision of a “home away from home” for families of hospitalized kids a reality when dozens of franchisees donated proceeds from the sale of the green milkshakes to the founders of the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC).

The Shamrock Shake proceeds were a huge win for the the RMHC founders (shown here) — Philadelphia Eagles football team owner Leonard Tose, Eagles’ player Fred Hill (whose daughter, Kim, had leukemia), Eagles general manager Jim Murray, Dr. Audrey Evans, and McDonald’s regional manager Ed Rensi.

Inspiration for the organization came when Hill and his wife, Fran, spent nights sleeping next to their daughter’s hospital bed while she battled cancer. The Hills’ experience generated awareness of the impact and need for family-centered programming, and the founders opened the first Ronald McDonald House on Oct. 15, 1974, in Philadelphia.

A decade later, in 1984, Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) was officially established, in memory of McDonald’s Corporation founder Ray Kroc, who was a strong advocate for children. In 2003, Kroc’s wife, Joan, bequeathed $60 million to the RMHC.

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