Tide Loads of Hope Finds Common Thread with Ronald McDonald House on National Laundry Day

It’s National Laundry Day, and Tide is celebrating the impact its Loads of Hope initiative has with Ronald McDonald House Charities Canada in providing families with the comforts of home by enhancing and expanding laundry programs.

“Tide and Ronald McDonald House Charities share a commitment to supporting families during their most challenging times,” said P&G Fabric Care Brand Director Dimitris Koufos. “The Tide Loads of Hope program offers hope and comfort through the essential need for clean clothing. Caring for a seriously ill child can be all-consuming, and we are proud to help more families across Canada by ensuring that every load of laundry does a load of good.”

Restoring Normalcy

Tide and RMHC provided the Hart family with fresh laundry. The parents to Oliver faced a difficult journey when he was admitted to McMaster Children’s Hospital at six weeks old due to a respiratory illness. During their 35-day stay at McMaster Children’s Hospital, they utilized the services of the Ronald McDonald Family Room inside the hospital, supported by RMHC South Central Ontario, where the ability to do laundry provided them with a crucial sense of normalcy amidst the stress.

“A lot of your time in the hospital is spent comforting, whereas laundry allows you to do something with your hands so that you can see a physical way of helping,” said Oliver’s mom, Eryn. “It’s important as parents to at least feel a little bit human while you’re going through this difficult experience, so having the laundry there gives you a sense of control while everything else feels a little out of control.”

Meaningful Improvements

With Tide Loads of Hope’s support, RMHC across Canada has made meaningful improvements to enhance its laundry facilities to better serve families.

Ronald McDonald House Charities Manitoba constructed a dedicated laundry facility for immunocompromised families to ensure safety and prevent cross-contamination.

Newfoundland & Labrador transformed its existing laundry area with new commercial washers and dryers, revamped counter space, and new storage cabinets to address previous space limitations.

Toronto processed over 100,000 loads of laundry in 2024; new high-capacity machines will enable them to handle the same volume 33% faster so they can focus their efforts on where it is truly needed.

Manoir Ronald McDonald de Québec improved their laundry room with new, efficient laundry machines, the addition of a more practical folding and storage area for families and cosmetic updates to provide a more welcoming atmosphere.

“We just opened up a new Ronald McDonald Family Room at Marotta Family Hospital in St. Catherines last September, and we’ve seen over 2,500 visits each month,” said Mario De Divitis, CEO, RMHC South Central Ontario. “You can’t speed up laundry. But for our families, that’s 45 minutes to sit, map out the rest of their day, reconnect, talk about their fears, and talk about what the next journey is going to look like.”

Programmatic Enhancements

Tide’s meaningful impact will continue in 2025 with programmatic enhancements in Toronto, Newfoundland & Labrador, and Saskatchewan slated for completion by year-end.

“We are extremely grateful for Tide’s continued support of families with seriously ill and injured children through the Tide Loads of Hope program,” said Kate Horton, president and CEO of RMHC Canada. “Across the country, RMHC enables more than 540,000 loads of laundry annually, but really, together we’re creating space for independence, stability, support and bringing comforts of home to families navigating their child’s medical journey.”