Ceremony held for new Ronald McDonald House at Stanford

PALO ALTO, Calif. (KGO) -- A lot of people are celebrating the new Ronald McDonald House at Stanford Monday, which aims to help families with children who have been diagnosed with an illness.

While the building is nice, workers said the reason this is so important is because of the families.

"We've created an environment that really embraces them and try to give them a sense of calm and just the reassurance that we'll help take care of you," Stanford Ronald McDonald House spokesperson Annette Eros said.

Families from out of the area often times need a place to live while their child is treated at nearby Lucille Packard Children's Hospital.

The current Ronald McDonald House can accommodate 47 families. The new one has 67 brand new suites.

There has never been enough room for everybody in need until now. "We don't want 40 to 50 families a night waiting to get into the Ronald McDonald House. We want to take care of everybody that needs us. And that's really the reason behind this house," Eros said.

There was $40.5 million raised to build the new Ronald McDonald House at Stanford.

Forty-eight Bay Area design firms helped with the rooms, adding individual flair to each suite.

The 52,000 square foot building has a commercial kitchen, activity rooms for kids and a lot of shared spaces.

Families are asked to pay $10 a night to stay, but if they can't there will be no problem as no one is ever turned away. "It's a bit overwhelming. It's tremendously exciting and we just can't wait for the families to move in," Eros said.

Workers will perform a few more finishing touches to the building.

Families are expected to move in starting sometime next week.