Ronald McDonald House & MSG Charity Funds Family Rooms at NYC Health+Hospitals
The Garden of Dreams charity provided more than $500,000 for NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan’s Pediatric Clinic in East Harlem, which will go towards two family gathering rooms.
| 27 Nov 2024 | 08:44
Rangers legend Henrik Lundquist (rear row left) and Knicks star John Starks (rear row right) gather with staff and patients at Metropolitan Hospital to dedicate two new rooms available to families with kids undergoing cancer treatments. (
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The ribbon-cutting for two new family rooms at NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan’s Pediatric Clinic in East Harlem, which were funded by a $500,000 donation by the Garden of Dreams Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Madison Square Garden. (
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Artist James Kimak produced murals in the new family rooms at Metropolitan Hospital. (
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The Garden of Dreams Foundation and Ronald McDonald House have spent $500,000 on two new family gathering rooms at NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan’s Pediatric Clinic, which is located in East Harlem. The outpatient clinic sees a total of 135 patients per day, who range in age from infants to 21 year-olds.
The Garden of Dreams is Madison Square Garden’s flagship charity, while Ronald McDonald House is an international network of charities that borrows its mascot from the fast food giant McDonald’s.
A Nov. 4 ribbon-cutting for the gathering rooms was attended by two New York sports legends, John Starks and Henrik Lundqvist. Starks, who played for the New York Knicks from 1990 to 1998, is currently a board member of the Garden of Dreams. Lundqvist, the Swedish hockey player who spent all 15 years of his career with the New York Rangers, is now a broadcaster with MSG.
“Me personally, I’ve been an ambassador for the Swedish Ronald McDonald House for over nine years,” Lundqvist said in a video released by MSG. “It feels really good. I know they make a huge difference for so many kids and their families.”
”Garden of Dreams has provided two beautiful spaces here,” Starks added. “It should be for the parents and their babies to come in here and just unwind for a minute.”
Dr. Ruth C. Browne, the CEO of Ronald McDonald House New York, explained that the room was catered towards some of New York’s “most vulnerable” populations: “We’ll provide activities, snacks, and respite for those caregivers who are constantly going back and forth from the hospital.”
Sam Rosen, who is also a broadcaster with MSG Networks, emceed the event. The new rooms, he said, “show Madison Square Garden and the Garden of Dreams Foundation reaching out to the community and being such an important part of the community.”
The East Harlem facility is just one of 380 Ronald McDonald Houses in 64 countries that accommodate families with hospitalized children under 21 years of age.
At Metropolitan Hospital, the newly-constructed Family Rooms will will have RMH-NY programming staff and volunteers to facilitate fun activities, distribute snacks, and more, enabling families to have positive experiences during their time at the hospital. Each room is themed and showcases custom made murals, designed by artist James Kimak.