Van Kam Partners With Ronald McDonald House BC & Yukon

When a child ends up in the hospital, the whole family’s life gets rerouted. Two out of three Canadian families live in a city without a children’s hospital, and for families across BC, that can mean hundreds of kilometres between home and their child’s bedside. Ronald McDonald House BC & Yukon exists to close that gap, giving families a place to rest, eat, and stay close while their child receives care.

Van Kam is proud to announce a three-year partnership with Ronald McDonald House BC & Yukon, supporting their Family Rooms in Surrey, Kamloops, and Prince George. These rooms sit inside Surrey Memorial Hospital, Royal Inland Hospital, and the University Hospital of Northern British Columbia, steps away from where families need them most.

We spoke with Neil McEachern, Senior Manager of Major Gifts at Ronald McDonald House BC & Yukon, about what partnerships like this one make possible.

More Than a Place to Stay

Ronald McDonald House describes itself as more than a place to stay, and Neil says corporate partners are what make that promise real. “They make laughter possible, joy possible, warmth and daily care possible,” he explains. Partners let families set down the logistics of daily life and “focus on what really matters”: their child.

The need is closer than most people think. With one in four Canadians having a connection to the House, Neil points out that coworkers, neighbours, even the customers you serve have likely been one of their families at some point.

Five Weeks, Ten Minutes From Home

Neil remembers a moment from his very first visit to the Surrey Family Room. He and a colleague had just finished a tour and were debriefing when a woman sitting quietly in the room spoke up.

She lived ten minutes from the hospital. For five weeks, she had been coming to the Family Room every day while her child was next door in the NICU. Having a space to rest, make a meal, and have a cup of coffee, all at no cost, “was incredible,” she told them.

Distance isn’t always measured in kilometres. Even families who live close by need somewhere to catch their breath. “This is the kind of impact that our partnership with Van Kam will have in the coming years,” Neil says.

From Vancouver to Kamloops

There’s a detail in Van Kam’s name that made everyone at Ronald McDonald House smile: Van Kam originally stood for Vancouver to Kamloops. Two of the three Family Rooms this partnership supports sit at either end of that original route.

The parallel runs deeper than the name. Both organizations serve people across the province, not just in the Lower Mainland. Neil noted that partnering with a company whose employees are spread throughout BC mirrors how Ronald McDonald House operates, with locations in Surrey, Kamloops, Prince George, and Vancouver. “Our smaller Family Rooms allow us to better serve families closer to where they live,” he says.

Full Plates, Full Hearts

This isn’t Van Kam’s first time working with Ronald McDonald House. Our team has previously taken part in Meals From The Heart, a program where company volunteers cook and serve meals for families staying at the House, and we’ll be back in the kitchen this fall.

For Neil, the program is about more than food. Bringing employees together “ensures that every plate is full of more than just food, but comfort, compassion, and connection,” he says. “It also helps to ensure that our families don’t face hospital-based food insecurity and can focus on navigating their child’s healthcare journey,” he concludes.

The Road Ahead

Over the next three years, this partnership will help keep the Family Rooms in Surrey, Kamloops, and Prince George open for the families who need them. “We are so thankful to Van Kam for helping us be a home away from home, where our families can remain close to their child during treatment,” Neil says.

To get involved through volunteering, fundraising, donating or to just learn more about Ronald McDonald House BC & Yukon, visit their “Get Involved” page.

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