UMC Candlelighters
Ronald McDonald House lodging support · About this organization
What you get
A paid Ronald McDonald House stay with a bedroom, bath and shared kitchen, living, laundry and dining spaces, plus a meal for you during your child’s hospital stay. An $8 nightly donation is requested.
How to start
Your Children’s Cancer Center social worker makes the lodging referral. Tell them you need an overnight stay and ask about parent meals.
Good to know
- You need to be coming from out of town and need an overnight stay.
- Ask about room availability and whether the requested donation can be waived.
The details, as published
UMC Candlelighters pays the Ronald McDonald House lodging cost for out-of-town Children's Cancer Center families who need an overnight stay. A cancer-center social worker must make the referral; the page says an $8-per-night donation is requested even though Candlelighters picks up the cost. Distance, room capacity, stay length, donation waiver, and current funding are not published, so families must call to confirm.
What help you may get
Lodging Near Treatment
Ronald McDonald House lodging support — lodging near treatment
UMC Candlelighters pays the Ronald McDonald House lodging cost for out-of-town Children's Cancer Center families who need an overnight stay. A cancer-center social worker must make the referral; the page says an $8-per-night donation is requested even though Candlelighters picks up the cost. Distance, room capacity, stay length, donation waiver, and current funding are not published, so families must call to confirm.
Amount not published
Can cover
- A parent's meal while the child is hospitalized
- Ronald McDonald House bedroom and bath plus shared kitchen, living, laundry, and dining facilities
- Ronald McDonald House stay for a pediatric cancer patient and family
- The meal's value and any number-of-meals limit are not published.
- UMC Candlelighters picks up the Ronald McDonald House cost; the page says an $8-per-night donation is requested.
- The page does not publish limits on nights, meals, or repeat use.
Meals And Food
Ronald McDonald House lodging support — meals and food
UMC Candlelighters pays the Ronald McDonald House lodging cost for out-of-town Children's Cancer Center families who need an overnight stay. A cancer-center social worker must make the referral; the page says an $8-per-night donation is requested even though Candlelighters picks up the cost. Distance, room capacity, stay length, donation waiver, and current funding are not published, so families must call to confirm.
Amount not published
Can cover
- A parent's meal while the child is hospitalized
- Ronald McDonald House bedroom and bath plus shared kitchen, living, laundry, and dining facilities
- Ronald McDonald House stay for a pediatric cancer patient and family
- The meal's value and any number-of-meals limit are not published.
- UMC Candlelighters picks up the Ronald McDonald House cost; the page says an $8-per-night donation is requested.
- The page does not publish limits on nights, meals, or repeat use.
Check the main eligibility rules
Diagnosis
B-ALL is in scope. The official hospital page identifies pediatric cancer patients and families; B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia is a pediatric cancer treated by the center.
Age
The program does not publish an age limit.
- The official page says pediatric cancer patients and children but does not publish a numerical age cutoff.
Treatment status
Active Treatment
- A provider must verify the patient or diagnosis.
- A Children's Cancer Center social worker must refer an out-of-town family that needs an overnight Ronald McDonald House stay.
- The meal benefit is described for a parent while the child is hospitalized.
- No income threshold or financial-need screen is published for these Candlelighters benefits.
Where you live and where your child is treated
Where your family lives
Residence coverage is not published clearly; confirm with the program.
Where your child is treated
Treatment must be through: The patient must be receiving pediatric cancer care through the Children's of Mississippi Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders for the published social-worker referral path..
- The patient must be receiving pediatric cancer care through the Children's of Mississippi Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders for the published social-worker referral path.
Where the service, camp, stay, or experience happens
- Mississippi — Mississippi — Mississippi
- Jackson — Jackson
How to get started
Set up the ask for my social worker
Does a social worker or care team need to start it? Yes. Ask your child’s social worker or care team to begin the request.
Who can start: Caregiver, Parent Or Guardian, Social Worker
- Ask to meet with a Children's Cancer Center social worker; the child's doctor may also make the referral.
- Have the social worker make the Ronald McDonald House referral and confirm whether Candlelighters lodging and parent-meal support are currently available.
- Tell the social worker if the family is coming from out of town and must stay overnight.
Ways to apply or ask
- Hospital Workflow · Open form or page · 601-984-2700 — Call the Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders center and select option 1, or ask the center social worker directly.
- Online Portal · Open form or page
Documents to prepare
The program does not publish a document checklist. Ask before gathering paperwork.
- The center social worker submits the lodging referral.
- UMC Candlelighters pays the Ronald McDonald House stay; an $8-per-night donation is requested.
Availability and timing
| Program | Active |
|---|---|
| Applications | Call To Confirm |
| Funding or space | Not Published |
| Application window | Not Applicable |
| Last checked | Aug 24, 2026 |
- Room inventory, meal-support availability, and Candlelighters funding are not published.
- The current UMMC family-support page presents both benefits as ongoing UMC Candlelighters support.
- No calendar window is published; the process is tied to treatment and an overnight or inpatient need.
- The page does not publish advance-notice requirements.
Limitations and things to confirm
- An $8-per-night donation is requested for the Ronald McDonald House stay.
- The lodging path requires a Children's Cancer Center social-worker referral and an out-of-town overnight need.
- The meal benefit is described only for a parent while the child is hospitalized.
- The site does not publish numerical age rules, residence or distance thresholds, required documents, room availability, meal limits, or funding status.
- Is Candlelighters funding currently available for both benefits?
- Is the $8-per-night donation requested from a family when UMC Candlelighters pays the stay, and can inability to donate be waived?
- What are the meal eligibility rules, value, frequency, and delivery process?
- What exact age cutoff, residence rule, financial screen, and documents are required?
- What room-availability, rotation, caregiver, distance, and length-of-stay rules apply today?
Official sources
Program details were last verified Aug 24, 2026. Availability can change, so check the official program before applying.
- Beaded Journey materials · checked Aug 27, 2026
- Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders - University of Mississippi Medical Center · checked Aug 24, 2026
- Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders - University of Mississippi Medical Center · checked Aug 23, 2026
- Family Support - University of Mississippi Medical Center · checked Aug 23, 2026