PLANS six years in the making have been unveiled for the largest Ronald McDonald House in regional Australia alongside the new Orange Base Hospital.
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“It’s taken some time to get to this point but now we can finally show Orange ‘this is what you’re helping make happen’,” Ronald McDonald House Central West chairwoman Joanne Lewis said yesterday.
The location of the $3.4 million house in a leafy section to the south east of the new hospital means Bloomfield’s existing tennis courts will need to be moved.
The house will be opened in two stages because of the costs associated with its environmentally-friendly design.
“As soon as you go green it costs,” Mrs Lewis said.
“If we were to go for some ugly hebel brick house with a little roof on it we could building everything, but we’ve deliberately not done that.
“We want to get it right, we want to make it something that works, something that is workable for the families, something they feel they’re a part of and a building that’s respectful to this beautiful environment.”
The building will feature eight full family units along with large communal kitchen, dining and recreational areas.
The first thing children will see as they approach the house will be an inviting playground rather than an uninviting reception desk.
“This is not a motel and we don’t want it to feel that way,” Mrs Lewis said.
“It’s funny, one of the main things people will need when they get here is a laundry.
“I know a fellow on our board had his little girl taken to hospital by helicopter with his wife and he drove there and by the time he arrived he realised he didn’t even think to pack anything and had no clothes for days.”
To date, the local volunteer fundraising committee has amassed nearly $2 million. That’s a significant achievement given it’s often difficult to raise money for a building and concept most people have never seen.
“That’s true and just goes to show the faith this community has had in what we’re trying to do and their generosity in helping us do it,” Mrs Lewis said.
A development application for the house will be lodged with Orange City Council later this year.
bevan.shields@ruralpress.com
