Philadelphia hosted the first Ronald McDonald House, which opened in 1974 near Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
The house was created to provide families with a place to stay while their children received medical treatment. Its origins are connected to Philadelphia Eagles football player Fred Hill, whose daughter needed cancer treatment, and to team fundraising supported by McDonald’s restaurants.
The project linked McDonald’s branding with a charitable hospitality program rather than with food advertising alone. Ronald McDonald’s name was used because the mascot was already a familiar public symbol of the company. Later Ronald McDonald House programs expanded to other cities and countries, but Philadelphia is recognized as the location of the first house.