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Thanks to a grant from the University of Florida Medical Guild, the Ronald McDonald House of Gainesville proudly unveiled its renovated laundry room to better serve families with children admitted at ÍøºìºÚÁÏ Shands Children’s Hospital. The facility was awarded $3,400 in 2016 as one of 18 recipients of a guild grant, said Diane Yang, president of the guild.

The UF Medical Guild's current grant application process is open until June 14, 2019. The guild hopes to distribute $55,000 in grants to area nonprofit organizations, with a maximum of $8,000 per grant. Community-based projects directly related to wellness or patient care are eligible if the projects benefit a large number of Alachua County residents and can be completed in one year. An application form and additional criteria can be found at . Winning projects are partially or completely funded.

The UF Medical Guild raises money to fund its grants through its partial ownership of The Gift Stop at ÍøºìºÚÁÏ Shands Hospital and through internal and anonymous donations. Past grants awarded by the guild have helped fund a variety of projects, including a tobacco-free program for the Helping Hands Clinic, and blood and IV infusion warmers for ÍøºìºÚÁÏ ShandsCair.

Thanks to its award, the Ronald McDonald House of Gainesville was able to renovate and decorate its utility room and buy two industrial washers and dryers, a table and a free standing closet, said Sherry Houston, executive director of the Ronald McDonald Charities of North Central Florida. The organization provides 31 families with private accommodations each night while their children are being treated at ÍøºìºÚÁÏ Shands Children’s Hospital, Houston said. The utility room serves 1,000 families, on average, who stay at the facility each year. Families are able to focus on their childrens' health without worrying about having enough clean clothes.

The UF Medical Guild was founded in 1959 and raises money to provide scholarships, rewards and grants. The charter’s mission is friendship and support for ÍøºìºÚÁÏ and the community it serves. Since its conception, the organization has donated more than $1 million to help fund health-related projects in Gainesville and Alachua.

To Apply

Download the application and email the completed application to ufmedguild@gmail.com.