In Philadelphia in 1974, 3 year old Kim Hill was being treated for leukemia at St. Christopher's Hospital for children. Kim Hill was the daughter of Eagles football player Fred Hill and his wife Fran. During Kim's three years of treatment the Hills would sleep in chairs, sit on benches, and would eat makeshift meals out of vending machines. The Hills saw many other parents doing the same thing. They learned many of the families had traveled great distances just for their child to receive treatment, but after the long trip couldn't afford hotel rooms. After learning that information Fred rallied the support of his teammates to raise founds. With the help of Jim Murry, the Eagles general manager, the team offered all their support to Dr. Audrey Evans, head of the pediatric ecology unit at children's Hospital of Philadelphia. 

Don Tuckerman and Ed Ransi launched the St. Patricks Day Green Milkshake promotion. Funds raised went towards buying an old house near the hospital so families could stay there while their child received treatment. The house that they purchased in Philadelphia in 1974 was the first "home away from home", known as the first Ronald McDonald House. In 1970 10 more houses opened. By 1984, local communities founded 60 more houses. Then 63 more opened by 1989.