Tamworth Ronald McDonald House: Greater Charitable Foundation announces three-year partnership with charity supporting local families

Maverick was diagnosed with a rare cancer one year ago, and while the news was a devastating blow to parents Jess and Alex, knowing they had a safe and supportive place to stay while he battled through treatment after treatment was a godsend.

"He's needed a lot of chemo and treatment in Newcastle at the children's hospital," Ms Smith said.

"Your whole life gets turned around ... it was very hard but we got there, we had a lot of support from the house and social workers.

"When a child gets diagnosed with a medical condition or a disease not many people understand, but within that house they do."

Now, more families like Maverick's will be able to be helped thanks to a three-year partnership with the Greater Charitable Foundation donating $650,000 across four regional areas.

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The investment will support houses in Newcastle, family rooms at the John Hunter Children's Hospital and Gosford, and the Family Retreat in Forster.

It will also give a boost to one-on-one tutoring for northern NSW students who miss school while recovering from serious illness.

Tamworth RMDH manager Rhiannon Curtis estimates it costs $115 a night to host families either here or in Newcastle.

"It gives families a base when they're going through some of the most trying times in their lives, they get uprooted from home down into an area they're probably not very familiar with," she said.

"It takes away those costs associated with travel, food, accommodation and gives them somewhere safe and clean that they can come back to at the end of each day and recharge."

Tamworth's house provides about 1000 nights of accommodation each year for an estimated 200 families doing it tough.

Greater Charitable Foundation chief executive Anne Long said the partnership will make life easier for families with a sick loved one across regional areas.

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