Fiona Lodge Ronald McDonald Beach House will provide a free holiday to families of children and adults who are fighting a life threatening illness. When a child or parent is being hospitalised, the families are often torn apart with grief and loneliness. Mum often sleeps on the floor of the hospital, with her sick child whilst Dad plays the unfamiliar role of housekeeper. Families are apart for long periods and have added expenses due to the illness.

Fiona Lodge Ronald McDonald Beach House provides them with a free seaside holiday when they most need it and can least afford it.

Not only does the pristine surroundings of Fiona Lodge Ronald McDonald Beach House offer a memorable holiday but the Batemans Bay community offers many free facilities for the family, e.g. local clubs will offer free meals, free entry will be provided to many of the entertainment facilities such as the zoo or the movie theatre, and free McDonald's breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Our guests are from all over NSW, however most come from Canberra and the East Coast.

This much needed facility is the first of its type in the world and as well as offering some families the last chance for a memorable family holiday, it gives other families the chance to re-energise to help fight the disease together.

The community support was overwhelming and we raised in excess of $1 million in 4 years. The duplex was completed and fully operational on the 1st July, 2002.

Des Phillips, Rachael Sweeny-Johns and Jim Johns call a meeting of interested people and form the Bay of Dreams committee to fundraise for a holiday home for people who have been told they have a serious or life-threatening illness. 1998: The Gala Bay of Dreams dinner raises $55,000, including $25,000 for the Bateman's Bay Hospital Auxilliary. The event sets new standards for fundraising functions in the region and introduces the Fiona Lodge concept to the community.

• May 12, 1999: Batemans Bay McDonald's McHappy Month of "Helping Hands" raises $3000 in its first week and goes on to make the most money of any McHappy Day in the state. The event included the dunking of several local politicians as well as Member for Eden-Monaro Gary Nairn.
  
  
• May 1999: With the idea well established and $40,000 in the bank the project attracts the attention of Rotary International and they start looking at land. A site is identified as Rosedale.
  
  
• June 2, 1999: Ronald McDonald House Charities decides to support the project by purchasing the land at Rosedale for $190,000 at a meeting of 200 owner-operators who vote unanimously for the project. It is then decided the house will be a duplex to enable two families to make use of the facility at any one time.
  
  
• September 3, 1999: Organised by the Rotary Corporate Alliance Program, The Tie Rack company conducts an auction of celebrity signed ties and raises $40,000 for the project, as well as introducing the idea to the wider community. Des is the guest speaker and everyone digs deep.
  
  
• 2000:The Fiona Lodge Golf Day held at the Catalina Country Club raises $22,000 and organisers, President of the FSC Zone of Club Managers Association of Australia. Mark Bellette, and the Federal Councillor of the same organisation, John Rafferty, talk about an annual event.
  
  
• 2000: Julian Day, 42, of Sydney walks from Batemans Bay to Eden in six days to support the project and talks to everyone along the way, raising $4000. Other generous donations start flowing in from all sections of the community.
  
  
• February, 2000: Objections to the site starting to be heard and Des Phillips makes a heartfelt plea supported by Enid Foster whose daughter was diagnosed with cancer:" The Beach may be dangerous, so is Cancer - a few days away from home, hospital, bills, telephone calls and visitors would be our idea of heaven (without having to die for it)."
  
  
• March 22, 2000: Applause greets council's unanimous decision to allow construction of a holiday home for the very sick and their families at Rosedale's Tranquil Bay Place. By this stage, $450,000 in cash and kind had been raised towards Fiona Lodge.
  
  
• May 19, 2000: The minister for Urban Affairs and Planning, approves an amendment to the Urban Local Environment Plan (LEP) which will enable Eurobodalla Shire Council to approve the duplex building on the site at Rosedale.
  
  
• May 2000: Tickets to the second Bay of Dreams dinner on June 9 are sold out and local oyster farmers donate 150 dozen oysters, other businesses donate to the auction, including a car, a trip to Antarctica, a sail on the Young Endeavour and donations from all the clubs and pubs in the area.
  
  
• June 14, 2000: The Endeavour Ball is staged at the Batemans Bay Bowling Club and raises about $100,000 towards Fiona Lodge: $60,000 in cash and a further $40,000 or so in pledges on the night. "We'll never be able to repeat what we did - we just couldn't do any better", says a euphoric Jim Johns.
  
  
• July 2000: Work Begins on the site.
  
  
• August 2000: Fiona Lodge Committee recieves special recognition at the Batemans Bay Business Awards for Outstanding Community Achievement. The special presentation is made by Batemans Bay Chamber of Commerce president, Greg Bowman who says he hopes the award will set a precedent.
  
  
• January 2, 2001: Des Phillips, the man who united the community with his passion to help people diagnosed with a terminal illness, loses his personal battle with cancer.
  
  
• February 2001: $20,000 is raised at an auction at the inaugural Prime TV - Fiona Lodge ALPG Player Championships at Bermagui.
  
  
• September 19, 2001: The second Tie Rack Auction is held at the National Museum in Canberra, raising $25,000.
  
  
• October 17, 2001: NRMAs motto to HELP comes in handy when Foundation Chairman Nicholas Whitlam presents a cheque for $50,000 to Fiona Lodge. The money comes at a crucial time and helped with the finishing touches to the holiday retreat.
  
  
• December, 2001: Building is finished and work begins on fitting out and furnishing the two homes.
  
  
• February, 2002: Finishing touches are made to the decor and landscaping at Fiona Lodge.
  
  
• April, 2002: The Bertolotti Family becomes the first family to visit Fiona Lodge.