Support Ronald McDonald House for a chance to win a cool car

Imagine winning a 2025 Corvette Z06. Or a 1969 Camaro SS. Or a 1967 Corvette Sting Ray. I bet that might be a dream come true. All you have to do to have a chance is support a cause that provides hope during one of the biggest nightmare scenarios a family could endure–a hospitalized child. That’s the premise behind the 32nd Annual Ronald McDonald House of the Central Valley Collector Car Drawing.

For those not familiar with Ronald McDonald House Charities, its mission is to “provide a home away from home and resources for families of hospitalized children.” A stay at a Ronald McDonald House costs nothing. While visions of cancer-stricken children come to mind, RMHC also serves families of kids who had medical emergencies.

“A lot of families don’t plan on being in the hospital,” RHMC of the Central Valley Director of Promotions David Ashjian says. “You could have been in a car accident or go into labor way, way early.”

A guest room at the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Central Valley.

RHMC of the Central Valley offers 18 guest rooms at its Madera, California, location. Each room has two queen beds, a private bathroom and a TV. Each wing has a shared laundry room, kitchen area and dining area. The kitchen has a fully stocked pantry and guest rooms have fully stocked refrigerators. There’s even a playroom and play areas for younger members of the families related to the hospitalized children.

A guest room can be used by up to four family members. The requirements? The hospitalized child can range in age from newborn to 21 years old. For RMHC of the Central Valley, the child must be treated at one of the area’s hospitals: Valley Children’s Hospital, Clovis Community Medical Center, Saint Agnes Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente or the Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno.

Note that no income level is stated as part of the requirements. Those who live further away from the hospital get priority over those who live close by.

“Crazy things happen to everybody,” David says. “Anybody can get cancer. Anybody could have a premature baby. Anybody could get in a car accident.

“If you have a child in the hospital, you’re most likely not working,” he continues. “You could have no or limited income during this time. If you had to stay at a hotel for two or three months, most couldn’t do it. You couldn’t pay the mortgage or rent and the hotel, food and gas for transportation. You would have to stay at home.”

Ronald McDonald House seeks to keep families together–and you can help. For more than 30 years, RHMC of the Central Valley has offered a collector car drawing. This year’s offered prizes include many of the favorites.

• 1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS (enter by June 27, winner chosen July 11)
• 1965 Pontiac GTO (enter by June 27, winner chosen July 11)
• Hawaii Getaway for 2 or $10,000 in Amazon gift cards (enter by June 27, winner chosen July 11)
• 2025 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (enter by November 21, winner chosen December 12)
• 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray (enter by November 21, winner chosen December 12)

“I’m the one who gets to call the winner, and usually the staff gets together in the conference room while I put the call on speakerphone,” David says. “People are often in disbelief. I’ve had people who had cried.”

The 1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS that's up for grabs.

While owning a Z06 sounds great, there’s also a cash option, too, for the car prizes.

“One winner, his daughter was getting married,” David recalls. “He said, ‘I have to take the cash option, it’ll pay for the wedding. Another person said they were behind on their mortgage and they won $70,000. Whether you take the car or the cash, it can be life changing.”

Tickets start at $5 for just one and up to $500 for 600 tickets. Grassroots Motorsports readers receive double the entries by entering GRASSROOTS into the promo code field.

As a reminder, tickets are not tax-deductible. However, if you’d like to make a tax-deductible donation in addition to the ticket purchase, there’s an option to do so on the order form.

Likewise, have a cool, popular car that you don’t know what to do with? If you feel it’s a good fit for the collector car drawing, RHMC of the Central Valley can accept it as a tax-deductible gift and use it in their next raffle.  For more information about this, contact David Ashjian, Director of Promotions at david@rmhccv.org or call (559) 447-6300.

“The car community is very generous,” David says. “Just about every car show benefits a charity. Even Barrett-Jackson has multiple cars that benefit charities. We’re lucky to be a part of the car community and offer something awesome that they could win while benefiting families going through a tragic situation.”

The Day Room at the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Central Valley.

While 18 guest rooms may seem like a lot, RHMC of the Central Valley currently has a 10- to 15-family waiting list.  "It's sad to have to turn families away." David says. "We're currently in the beginning phases of expansion. We hope to build an all-new Ronald McDonald House with 50-plus rooms. It's a very expensive undertaking, so support now is as critical as ever."   

For families requiring shorter stays, two to three nights, it offers the Hotels from the Heart program, where they will pay for families to stay at a nearby hotel. Some families do not need overnight accommodations. They just need to get away from the beeps and noises of the stressful hospital environment. Those families can check in to the Day Room, a 1000-square-foot apartment-like area featuring a living room, stocked kitchen, TV, laundry room and napping room. A family can escape the hospital for a short time, recharge and head back to be at their child's bedside.  

“Anybody could need the Ronald McDonald House,” David reminds folks. “Cancer doesn’t discriminate. Car accidents don’t discriminate. When you’re donating to the Ronald McDonald House, you’re ensuring it could be available for you, a family member or your neighbor. It’s something that some people might not realize is available until they need it–and anybody could need it at any given moment.”

Comments

Displaying 1-6 of 6 commentsView all comments on the GRM forums

You'll need to log in to post.