"We need a permanent second facility," Chong said. "Ten years ago organ transplants were not done here and many formerly untreatable (diseases) are now treatable. That means more families come to Honolulu to have the surgery and treatment here. The good news is that it is treatable, but the challenge is more families need lodging, help and services. The need definitely has increased."

Laurie Smith-Kaukina of Maui and her family stayed at the Judd home three times between November and February while her daughter, Chelsie, was being treated for a tumor on her thyroid. The tumor was removed and Chelsie is expected to lead a normal, healthy life.

Smith-Kaukina said being able to stay at the Judd Hillside home relieved much of the stress on her and her family and allowed them to focus on Chelsie's treatment.

"It helped us big time," she said. "When we first found out about my daughter's health, we didn't even have a plan about going down to O'ahu. We didn't have a place to stay. We flew down there because we only had my daughter's health in mind."

"At first when you stay at a house and don't know anybody, it is kind of uncomfortable," she said. "But as the days went by, the workers there, the managers, were so awesome and made us feel at home. We didn't have to worry about a place to stay or transportation.

"It is such a beautiful home, too. Not one day goes by I don't think about the home and the people there. It was like my second family. We came so close to the people. They make it nice."

The Judd Hillside home will be closed for about six months for renovation. The group rents a home on Dole Street near University Avenue but hopes money raised will allow it to buy a second home in Manoa. When it has two residential facilities operating, the group can provide comfort and support for more than 400 families a year.

Chong said a major requirement for a second home is that it be within a five-minute drive of Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women & Children because that is where 85 percent of the children are being treated.

Today many of the children being treated, even with serious problems, are outpatients and need a place to live, she said.

"It wasn't like that when we first opened up the house back in 1987," Chong said. "The purpose of the house was to provide lodging for the parents of the kids who were hospitalized. Now we keep the parents, the patients and often the siblings at the Ronald McDonald house."

The Judd Hillside house was built in the 1920s and the charity had it converted from six to 10 bedrooms to accommodate more families.

The renovation will include a new 70-foot-long, 12-foot-tall retaining wall behind the home, along with plumbing and electrical improvements. Some windows will be replaced, carpet removed and bathrooms made accessible to wheelchairs.

Chong said the yard will be graded and a garden added to allow families a place to gather outside and room for children to play.

"It was very, very important that we shore everything up and make real certain for safety purposes that we put in a retaining wall," she said. "It's not going to look like a brand-new house," she said. "It is just the things we need to do to bring it up to speed and make it more comfortable."