FAQs

Ronald McDonald House Charities Sydney provides a warm, safe, home-away-from-home when seriously ill or injured children require specialist care and treatment far from their hometowns in regional and rural Australia.

We strive to provide valuable family-centred care that plays a vital role for families while their child receives treatment. Thanks to the community, we provide much-needed holistic support that alleviates the financial and emotional for families while improving their ability to cope.

On average, it costs $190 per night to support each family staying at Ronald McDonald House Charities Sydney (in Randwick).

The families stay at the House for FREE, to help relieve some of the pressures of being away from home.

In the traditional sense of the word, a night would simply refer to a roof over someone's head for the night, but at Ronald McDonald House in Randwick, it means so much more to our families.

A night for our families means:

• Supported accommodation at no cost, so families can focus on their sick child
• A network of support through other families, staff and volunteers
• The hospital is a quick 5-minute walk away
• A kitchen full of food, with meals cooked by our supporters three times a week
• In-house education support by qualified teachers
• Access to 40 hours of free tuition when the patient returns home

Funds raised through our Swim for Sick Kids challenge will support over 850 family stays of seriously sick and injured children who rely on the support of Ronald McDonald House Charities Sydney every year and over 1,500 families that use our family rooms.

Ronald McDonald House Charities Sydney offers support through the Ronald McDonald House in Randwick, Ronald McDonald House Learning Program and Family Rooms in the Sydney Children’s Hospital and Wollongong Hospital.

You can sign up to Swim for Sick Kids by clicking here.

When you register, you’ll have the option to create a team. Once your team page is set up, share the link with family and friends and invite them to join you!

When you register, you can choose to join a team straight away. If you’d like to join later, just log in to your Swim for Sick Kids profile, go to the “My Team” tab, and click “Join a Team.” From there, search for the team name and select “Join Team.”

Of course! You can join any time between 1st – 30th November. We appreciate all fundraising efforts for sick kids and their families.  

You can spread the word by sending emails directly from your fundraising dashboard, sharing your fundraising page on social media, or putting up posters in your office, school, or local community. We’ve also created some fun resources you can use - check them out here.  

We would love for you to be part of the Swim for Sick Kids community by joining our Facebook Group here. 

You will receive an email with some helpful information for the challenge straight to your inbox.  

Still have questions? Please reach out to us at supporting.sydney@rmhc.org.au  

You can take part in this swimming challenge from anywhere, in a pool, the ocean or lake. Just make sure wherever you choose to swim you swim within your capabilities, follow the rules and stay within the flags!

Swim for Sick Kids is a swimming challenge, if you are unable to swim that is okay. It is your responsibility to ensure your own health and safety.  

If you can’t swim and would like to learn how to as part of the challenge we would recommend consulting a swimming professional such as your local swim club who can advise the best way to get started and safely swim within your capacity.  

If you don’t want to get in the water, you could be a champion for a friend/team and help promote their swimming on social media, make your own donation or share it with the local community. 

It’s up to you. Once you have chosen your goal distance, break it down into how far you think you can swim per session and that will give you an idea of how often you need to swim.

As a guide to reach your goal we suggest

Beginner: 2 laps in a 50m pool per day
Intermediate: 10 laps in a 50m pool per day
Advanced: 24 laps in a 50m pool per day

Feel free to start with shorter distances and build them up as the month goes on and you become more confident.  

Remember that whilst this is a challenge it should be fun! Get a group together to help keep you motivated throughout the month. Join the facebook group and share your progress with others.

The challenge will remain open until 13 December for anyone that needs some extra time to reach their goal.  

Make sure you are logged into your fundraising page.  

On the menu at the top left of the page select ‘Edit My Page’. 

You will also be able to add posts to keep your followers up to date on your progress.  

Share your page with your family and friends – send them an email, post on social media – don't forget to add your personal fundraising link in your messages. 

We will also send you emails with fundraising tips and support, so keep an eye out for those.  

Join our Swim for Sick Kids facebook group, and chat with other participants about how to make the most out of your fundraising challenge.  

Once you’re logged into your fundraising page, click on “Get Support” to share your page directly to social media or send emails to your contacts. Be sure to post regular updates so your supporters can follow your progress and celebrate your achievements. Use the hashtag #SwimforSickKids and tag us — we’d love to follow your journey!

• Facebook: @RMHCSydney

• Instagram: @rmhc_sydney

All online donations automatically come to us so there is no need to do anything.  

If you receive cash or direct debit donations, you can make an online donation on the person's behalf or reach out to us supporting.sydney@rmhc.org.au and we will send you further steps. 

When registering for Swim for Sick Kids, we do encourage you to fundraise, however it is not compulsory. 

All donations to us made in Australia over $2 are tax-deductible. When you donate an email with your receipt will be sent to you as proof of donation.  

If your friend has already signed up, you can make a donation by the personal fundraising link they have sent you.  

Alternatively, click the ‘Donate’ button, search for your friend/team's name and click on their page to make a donation. 

Donations will remain open until 13 December 2025. 

Thank you for thinking of supporting us! We understand that swimming isn’t for everyone.  

We have a range of other fundraising events throughout the year which you can find here. Alternatively, you can create your own challenge here.

We are always looking for awesome individuals and groups that are interested in volunteering, see here for further information on volunteering opportunities with Ronald McDonald House Charities Sydney.  

If you have further questions, please contact us on supporting.sydney@rmhc.org.au and one of our friendly team will be in touch.