In a state where the population is scattered across an island chain, families with seriously ill children must often fly long distances for lengthy, emotionally draining and costly medical procedures.

Enter Ronald McDonald House Charities of Hawaii, which provides lodging in Honolulu for visiting Neighbor Island and Pacific Rim families whose children need medical care unavailable at home.

The organization will host its fourth annual fundraising gala at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in the Hilton Hawaiian Village's Coral Ballroom.

The gala, RMHC-HI's main fundraiser for the year, will honor the Kelley family and Outrigger Enterprises Group, which has provided additional lodging for visiting families for more than 20 years. According to RMHC-HI president Jerri Chong, that adds up to almost 20,000 nights for visiting families of seriously ill children.

"That is the reason why we have never in more than 20 years had to turn a family away," Chong said. "Without them, we wouldn't be able to do what we do."

Before the first Ronald McDonald House opened in Mänoa in 1987, Neighbor Island families with seriously ill children often slept in cars in the hospital parking lot.

O'ahu resident Kitty Lagareta, whose youngest son was born with bacterial spinal meningitis, became involved when planning for the first Ronald McDonald House began in 1982.

"I was a parent, and I had started taking other parents to my house for showers and meals," said Lagareta, who eventually became the founding executive director of RMHC-HI. "So many Neighbor Island parents had nowhere to go."

Lagareta said she cried the day Outrigger first called to offer the rooms back in 1984.

"We were having to say no to people all the time because the house wasn't open yet," she said. "At the time I was just a mom, so to have a business call up like that and make such a generous offer, it was just incredible. I think everybody was just overwhelmed, knowing families would have a place to take a shower and (have) a bed. It was all very emotional."

Lagareta helped set up a system in which the hospital referred visiting families directly to Outrigger, which put them up in rooms for free, often for lengthy stays. Once the house opened, the hotel continued to take any overflow families when the house was full, charging the same rate as the house — $15 per night initially, and $20 per night today.

"We use the rooms, and we use the rooms a lot," said Chong, who explained that the house might have vacancies one day but overflow the next because of emergency medical situations.

"There's nothing more frightening than having a child who is sick," said Dr. Richard Kelley, Outrigger's chairman. "I've been lucky in my life to have enjoyed fairly good health, but I can just imagine the terror that goes through the mind of a child and the angst of a parent in that situation."

RMHC-HI has grown since the '80s, adding a second house in Mänoa in 2006 and the Family Room at the Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women & Children in 2003. Kelley says Outrigger will continue to provide overflow rooms.

"I've known Dr. Kelley for 20 years, and he is the most down-to-earth, truly caring person," said Lagareta, now the CEO of Communications Pacific. "He's someone who sees something and takes action and this is a really good example of that. You can see why he's always been a leader in the community."

The gala's entertainment will feature longtime Outrigger entertainers Andy Bumatai and the Society of Seven, who will perform a tribute to the Kelley family.

"It's a wonderful honor, and anytime you get honored with something like this you have two emotions: one, you feel good, and the other is you feel humbled because you know what a big job there is to do out there in the community," Kelley said. "I'm proud to be a part of it."