It’s the call. The diagnosis. The accident that changes a thriving child into one who is just surviving. As parents, it’s the stories we dread. At the Ronald McDonald House, it’s these stories that motivate us.
We Are There
For the families who have filed for bankruptcy because of overwhelming medical bills—we are there.
For the parents whose vacation with their child turned into a nightmare—we are there.
And for the littlest ones who are not only fighting for their lives, but find themselves miles away from home—we are there.
You can be, too.
Home Away from Home
Since opening the doors to our Ronald McDonald House on February 14, 1987, over 10,000 seriously ill children and families have stayed at our House. Serving approximately 250 families annually, our House provides families a safe place to stay within walking distance of their critically ill hospitalized child.
Elizabeth had brain cancer and struggled with intense therapies and the disease’s complications. Her mother, Alia, told us, “The support we received at the Ronald McDonald House went beyond a warm meal and a comfortable bed. Staff, families and volunteers got to know my husband and me and our four children as individual people, not just a ‘cancer family.’… Staying at the house provided a sense of normalcy and strength that we wouldn’t have otherwise gotten. And allowing our entire family to remain together while Elizabeth received her treatment, well, I think that helped her to have the fight to survive.”
We Love Volunteers
Our House, supported largely by volunteers, lifts numerous burdens placed on families. We not only provide beautiful private bedrooms, but take care of their physical and emotional needs. Families here can focus their intention and energy on their hospitalized child.
In 30 years of operation, RMHCSC has never turned someone away because of a lack of funds.
When a child is hospitalized, the love and support of family is as powerful as the strongest medicine prescribed. Our House serves families from southern Colorado, western Kansas, northern New Mexico and beyond. Some families stay for weeks, others stay for months, depending on the severity of the child’s illness.
Ronald McDonald House Charities is much more far reaching than a house.
Ronald McDonald House Innovations
In 2008 and 2009, RMHCSC opened Colorado’s first Ronald McDonald Family Rooms, a respite within Memorial Hospital and St Francis Medical Center where families of infant and pediatric patients can rest. In February 2009, RMHCSC partnered with Peak Vista Community Health Centers to launch the world’s first green Ronald McDonald Care Mobile—a 40-foot mobile clinic that travels through the Pikes Peak Region, providing uninsured and underserved children medical and dental services.
For each of these programs, volunteers are at our core. They are the people who make a house feel like a home. They are often the first smile families see. And they are the home-cooked meals, gift bags, care and nourishment that a house alone cannot give.
Ready To Listen
Liz Farley, a Family Room Volunteer for more than 3 years, comes in knowing that it is not always a hand that families need. Sometimes, it’s a listening ear.
“Sometimes they don’t want to talk, but if they do… I am here to listen.”
Many of our volunteers have been through the same trials our families now face. These small shoes have not only walked through the trenches, but are jumping down with them and truly walking through it again.
We see mother-daughter duos, friends, groups and individuals motivated to serve through their own experiences or just by knowing their help is the support families need to make it through.
People like you can make a tremendous impact on families. If you would like to volunteer, make a homemade meal, contribute needed items or even help spread the word, please reach out to us!
http://rmhcsoutherncolorado.org/volunteer/
Nicole Noll, Volunteer Manager, [email protected]
tel:(719) 471-1814
