A Picture Story AND Giveaway!
When I was in Chicago for the 4th of July weekend, my friend Lauren (who heads social media for Ronald McDonald House Charities) invited me to meet up with her and tour a Ronald McDonald House in the city. I had an amazing time! Rather than tell you about my visit I thought it would be more fun and more impactful to show you some pictures.
I was so impressed with the house that I actually took a zillion pictures, but I thought I’d show a few that represented ways you, your church, or your small group could help your local Ronald McDonald House provide care and support for the families of children in need of medical care.
Make sure you read the entire post… there’s a great giveaway at the end!
We visited the house on Deming Place in Chicago. Isn’t it gorgeous? It’s across the street from Children’s Memorial Hospital, which specializes in very serious illness, so the 31 beds at this house are often full. Families with a child receiving care at Children’s Memorial can stay at the house for a recommended donation of $10 per day.
As you can see it’s just as pretty inside. This is one of playrooms that we were able to visit.
But just beyond all of the toys and beautiful decorations were constant reminders of what the house is intended for… to care for the sick and to show love to children and families. One of the things that really moved me was an encouragement board that hung over one of the couches in a reading room. The board was covered in encouraging note cards, some written in a child’s crooked block letters, others in a father’s heavy print, or this one written in a mom’s looping cursive. A prayer for hope and healing.
I also asked about ways the church can help. Here are three:
(Don’t forget to keep reading for the free swag!)
1. Volunteer
The names on this schedule represent church groups and families that have volunteered to cook meals for families. While parents have access to the kitchens and can cook independently, the houses also like to have group dinners. Not only does it give mom and dad a nice break from cooking after a long day at the hospital, it also gives them an opportunity to meet other families, which is so important for ongoing support. In addition to volunteering to cook, groups can also volunteer to do tutoring or host children’s craft nights. What a great small group opportunity!
2. Collect Donations
Like I said, families have the opportunity to cook for themselves. They are given access to a fully stocked family pantry full of dry and canned goods that they have free access to. The house is always looking for donations to keep the pantry stocked. In addition to food, they are also in need of household products like toilet paper, paper towels, and laundry soap. Call your RMHC to find out how to organize a donation drive.
(Note: I have a personal, first fruits-esque pet peeve – please donate the stuff that you would use – you know the good 2-ply stuff. I hate when we buy second rate junk that we would never put in our own houses for donations… stuff like waxy, icky crayons. Crayola people! OK, rant over).
3. Give Gifts
If you want to give something a little more exciting than a box of Pasta-Roni, I learned that every child (and sibling) who stays at the house gets a gift out of a giant toy closet. Toy and book donations are needed year round. Gift cards for fast food or resturants around the hospital are also a good gift idea.
The Giveaway
I’m giving away a reuseable, eco-friendly Ronald McDonald House shopping bag AND a $10.00 McDonald’s gift card to one lucky winner. Winner will be randomly drawn from the comments below on July 17th.
There are three ways to enter (and yes, you can do each one once for a total of three entries).
1. Leave a comment below with the location of the Ronald McDonald House closest to your home or church. Click HERE to search for the location nearest you.
2. Leave a separate comment below letting me know that you tweeted this: I support @rmhc and entered to win a gift card from @nicolewick http://www.nicolewick.com/2010/07/a-picture-story-and-giveaway/
3. Leave a separate comment below letting me know that you became a RMHC facebook fan and pasted this in your status: I’m a fan of RMHC and entered to win a McDonald’s gift card here http://www.nicolewick.com/2010/07/a-picture-story-and-giveaway/
Leave your comments to win!
I don't want to be a part of the contest but about a decade ago I went to Memphis to visit St. Jude Children's Hospital and had a tour of the House there. You can't leave a place like that the same way you entered.
This is awesome Nicole! Please don't enter me to win… I'd prefer that someone else win the cool swag. But I did want to say that as the dude who heads-up outreach for my church, this is something that I want to pursue. I'm not sure if we have one in our town, but I'm going to check it out and look for other organizations that we might be able to support that provide these kinds of services. Really cool idea…
Jason, I was so impressed. What a blessing they are to so many.
Thanks Dan. That made me so happy :)
This is so precious. I have been a fan of RMH on Facebook for a long time. Our daughter was in the hospital for 3 weeks after she was born, and we were so lucky that we lived less than 30 minutes away from the hospital. But you can imagine the families we met who were from out of town and out-of-state. You just can't imagine the blessing that RMH is until you see parents sleeping on the floors of PICU and NICU waiting rooms. I am crying right now just thinking about some of the mamas and daddies we met who were far away from home and family while waiting to know if their child would live through the night. Thank you for bringing attention to this amazing organization!
And, the closest RMH to us now is in DC. (We used to live in Raleigh, NC, and so we were close to the one at Duke.)
Thank you so much for sharing that story. They really are a blessing.
Thanks for sharing your perspective Nicole – beautifully documented and written! Soo glad you could make it to the House and I could meet you in person! What a special morning! Hope the rest of the holiday weekend was a blast!! Have a super week!!
It was great seeing you too!
I tweeted this! Thanks for sharing. I support @rmhc and entered to win a gift card from @nicolewick http://www.nicolewick.com/2010/07/a-picture-sto...
Nicole – what an inspiring story! I always knew Ronald McDonald House was a good thing, but I never got to see inside one. Thanks for this. And yes, I totally agree with your pet peeve. Tasty food, real crayons, good toys! The nearest Ronald McDonald House to me is actually in New York City. Ronald McDonald House in New York City
405 East 73rd Street
New York, NY 10021 USA
Phone: 212 639-0100
Fax: 212 472-0376
Also – I tweeted your tweet.
Also, I “like”d RMHC on Facebook and added that status. I really love McDonald's and TOTALLY WANT TO WIN!
Plus, this charity obviously rocks. I can remember their touching commercials from when I was growing up.
I left my reusable grocery bag in your car :(
The closest one is in Chapel Hill, NC.
mami2jcn at gmail dot com
tweeted:
http://twitter.com/mami2jcn/status/18563181397
mami2jcn at gmail dot com
The one closest to me is in Charlotte, NC!
TWeeted: http://twitter.com/Getalonghome/statuses/185645...
The Ronald McDonald House closest to me is in St. Louis
I guess that means we'll have to get together again! Did you see that I mentioned the pet peeve that we discussed in the car?
http://twitter.com/meeyeehere/status/18658841752
Hey darling,I tweeted! You have a good week.
I tweeted!!!! Thanks Nicole!