The first Ronald McDonald House was opened in Philadelphia in 1974. Fred Hill, a Philadelphia Eagles football player whose daughter Kim was undergoing treatment for leukemia, recognized the need for a supportive environment away from the hospital for families of seriously ill children. He enlisted the aid of his teammates and the local McDonald's restaurant owners to raise funds to purchase and renovate the first house. The name Ronald McDonald House was given not only because of McDonald's fund-raising support but also for the positive, hopeful, and fun-loving feeling this well-known clown character could inspire in children.

Today the Ronald McDonald House is international with over 250 facilities in the U.S. and world-wide. Every Ronald McDonald House is autonomous and is owned by a not-for-profit corporation in the city in which it is located.

The Dallas Ronald McDonald House is in the Southwestern Medical District and is a short distance from Children's Medical Center. The House opened its doors in 1981 with the capacity to serve 10 families. In 1985 an expansion program doubled the size of the House. Still, in 1993, more than 700 families were turned away because of lack of space. A second expansion program, completed in 1994, now enables the House to serve 30 families nightly in 26 bedrooms and 4 apartments in the Bone Marrow/Organ Transplant wing.

In the years since it opened its doors, the Dallas House has served thousands of families. Although families are asked to contribute $10 per family per night, no one has ever been turned away because of an inability to pay.

The Dallas Ronald McDonald House is not owned by the McDonald's Corporation nor by any hospital or health care organization. Funding to sustain the Ronald McDonald House of Dallas comes from individual and corporate donors, community organizations, and special events. Approximately 10% of the annual operating budget comes from McDonald's Corporation and Ronald McDonald House Charities.