Volunteer Bill Mount poses on a lawn mower for the #MyWhy campaign to spotlight the reasons volunteers choose to support RMHC of Central Ohio. He had just finished mowing the lawn at the House.

Bill Mount was introduced to the Columbus Ronald McDonald House when the first House was built on 18^th Street in 1982. He was working for Converse Electric when the company was awarded the contract to do the electrical work for that first building. As the project manager, Bill was among the first to help get the House started in Central Ohio. In 2008, it was time to move into the current building, Bill was the project manager again, being there for the demolition of the old building and saving as many materials as possible for the new building. Continuing as project manager, Bill was involved in with the construction of the current House, and its expansion in 2014. “That’s how I got acquainted with the Ronald McDonald House. I really didn’t know much about it before that,” he said during a recent interview after mowing the lawn at the House. “I had seen the positive impact and the good things that happen and how it helps the families to stay close.”

After retiring in 2018, Bill said he wanted to stay involved with the House, so he continued to volunteer in various ways, including working with one particular gentleman from Continental Building Company on the golf committee for RMHC. Bill explained, “I had offered to help with the building and Todd Alexander, with Continental, said it might be a good idea.” Bill started by doing electrical work and craftsman work in the House, and now he also takes care of the yard and grounds. Bill points out, “I have been involved and I enjoy it and I think it’s a great, great facility and I’m happy to be part of it.”

Bill ‘s contributions to the House hasn’t just been with the physical building itself. “Through Converse Electric, we’ve provided a half-dozen dinners and that’s pretty rewarding. Everyone is so thankful because they’re getting a nice cooked meal,” he said.  Bill reminisced about one of his favorite moments in the House, which didn’t involve fixing something, but did involve his wife. “Molly and I came down and brought dishes and plates and glasses and cups…and paint. And we let the kids paint. It was an activity in the evening. We had the paints and brushes and so forth and they painted all kinds of designs all over the plates. That was pretty fun, to interact with the kids. That night was great.”

Many folks are being asked to stay away from others as much as possible during the pandemic and our Ronald McDonald House has ceased most volunteer opportunities. Bill is one of the few volunteers still coming back to help the House. When asked why he still comes to help take care of the grounds, Bill quipped, “The grass keeps growing.” After a chuckle, he continued, “It’s pretty easy for me to maintain social distancing and stay outside. I don’t go in the House that much.”

Now, Bill has also set his sights on another outdoor activity on the property. Thanks to his extensive knowledge of gardening, he’s taken a lead role in helping our new garden grow. “Well, I was raised on a farm and I have a degree in animal science from Ohio State and I have gardened my whole life. I enjoy planting stuff, watching it grow, harvesting and working in the dirt. I still like it.” He’s really taken the lead on this project, even recruiting his fellow craftsmen and RMHC staff members one early day in April to help go through the garden area to remove rocks so he could bring in his tractor to till it. What’s more, he was able to convince Acorn Farms, a local wholesale plant distributor, to make a generous contribution to the garden. “They’re donating compost. So, I’ve hauled three loads down and I’m going to get three or four more. Once I get that spread out on the garden, we’ll till it in and mix it all up with the soil that’s there and hopefully have a bed ready to plant. I’d like to plant, if not this weekend, next week, some of the early stuff. We’re going to plant like broccoli and cauliflower and peas and radishes and beats and lettuce and things like that that tolerate the cold and cooler weather and then in a month or so, we’ll plant all the other vegetables.”

Volunteer Bill Mount begins to till our garden.

This garden won’t only provide some nutritious items for Chef Blair Arm’s meals, but Bill hopes it will also be a stress reliever for guests staying at the House. Families will be able to come out and get their hands dirty in the soil, if they would like, by pulling weeds and helping keep the garden in good condition. “Or if they just want to go out and sit. We’ll probably have some benches around and some paths through it,” he added. Plans even include a gourd archway with plants growing up each side.

It’s also hoped that the garden will offer educational opportunities for anyone involved with the garden. Bill points out that he’s learned a lot at the House and misses working with all the other volunteer craftsmen right now, but he looks forward to the time they can all work together again. “They’re a unique bunch. They’ve taught me a lot. I work with them on electrical, but they’re teaching me on other facets… flooring and drywall and so forth… so I’m learning from them and gaining that experience but it’s enjoyable working with them. They’re a good bunch of guys.”

Editor’s Note: To support the Ronald McDonald House Garden fundraiser, click here.

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio is committed to the health and well being of our community. Our team is working diligently to address concerns with the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus). In an effort to maintain the safety of our community, we have suspended non-essential volunteer groups. In addition, many meal groups have cancelled or rescheduled for a later date. As you know, the Ronald McDonald House and Ronald McDonald Family Room are completely dependent upon volunteerism to operate.

In these challenging times, we are fortunate to have many people asking how they can help us at RMHC. If you are interested in helping us provide meals to guests of the Ronald McDonald House, please consider making a donation. To learn more about supporting the meal program, called Team Cuisine, please email Katherine.Becke​r@RMHC-CentralO​hio.org. To make a financial donation to support our operations, please visit rmhc-centralohio.org/donation-form/.

In addition, RMHC of Central Ohio has postponed our Volunteer Appreciation Dinner and Handbag HULLABALOO! Dublin in compliance with Governor DeWine’s Executive Order. We will be working with our event committees to announce the rescheduled dates for those events as they become available.

Please know that we sincerely appreciate the support of our community, and look forward to the day that we can open our doors once again to volunteer groups.

Thank you,

RMHC of Central Ohio

By Molly Todd

Molly holds one of the quilts with a young artist who created the centerpiece.

Molly with a young artist who has a piece advocating for young people to read.

In about March 2018, I was asked to attend a “quilt guild” meeting with a friend I had recently met.  I have sewn all my life but knew nothing of quilting and thought I had no interest.  I mistakenly believed quilting to be all about making a bedspread.  But, in an effort to honor my friend’s request, I agreed to go.  I was absolutely enthralled with the “pictures made out of fabric” that I saw at that meeting.  I knew this was something I must do.  I bought a new sewing machine in May of 2018 and took off like a racehorse out of the gates.

My first quilts were a series of nursery rhyme scenes from my own original drawings.  I hoped to sell them but figured I could give them to my grandchildren if they didn’t sell.  Much to my surprise, when I showed them to the owner of a local children’s book store, she bought them all and asked me to make a few more.  She hung them above the bookshelves in her store and they fit perfectly and look great.  Then she asked me if I would make a quilt from a watercolor picture that her son had made for her.  She wanted this quilt to be bigger so children could snuggle in it on the reading couch in the back of her store. I first spoke with the artist to ask permission because I want children to know that they have ownership of things that they create.  I make a big deal out of this with every quilt I make.  When I completed this quilt, which depicts a mouse saying “Please read”, I knew I had found a calling.  This process combines my passion for children’s original artwork with my lifelong love of fabrics.

The children’s bookstore asked me to put business cards on their counter and I began to receive calls for quilts.  One day I met a woman who asked me about my quilting.  I will never forget her question to me after we had spoken just a few minutes.  She said, “Wouldn’t it be nice if you could use your talent to honor children who have died?”  She told me that she had just lost her great nephew two weeks prior and that she had some of his last pieces of artwork.   I was quite taken aback and told her I would think about that.  My husband and I decided that we really did not need the money that a quilt business brings in, so……I contacted my new friend and said that, yes, I would make that quilt as a gift to her great nephew’s mother.   At that point I began telling each family that there was a catch to this gift.  When I brought them their quilt, they would need to refer me to another family that I could sew for.  Not necessarily a family who had experienced loss but a family whose child was experiencing illness.  This worked well but extremely slowly.  I knew I could do much more.  I mentioned this to a friend and she told me to contact the Ronald McDonald House so I did.  It was a great decision because now I have access to many families that I can honor with a quilt.

I figure it takes me about 20 hours to make most of the quilts which measure about 3’ x 4’.  This includes time for fabric shopping and a lot of staring at the original artwork.  The most fun part of the process is deciding how to approach the project because the medium used makes different approaches necessary.

I make sure each family receives their quilt within a couple weeks.  I have delivered nine quilts to Ronald McDonald families so far.

Marta and her father Gustavo hold the quilt Molly made for them before leaving our Ronald McDonald House to return home to Spain.

My very favorite comment was made by a father from Spain.  He and his wife bring their two daughters to Columbus every three months for treatments.  He pointed at the quilt I had made the girls and he said, “This is great reminder………of you………of here………of all”.  That’s about when I lost it and I cried all the way home in the car.  I think I would like those words printed on a plaque or something.

I do it because I love to do it.  I love to get inside a child’s head as I analyze what they drew first and what later, or how they used the marker or paint brush.  I love the honesty and the freedom and the charm of children’s artwork.  I love to work with fabrics.

The culture of quilting seems to me to be about two things really: comfort and legacy.  I hope that families find physical comfort snuggled under a quilt I have made.  And I label each piece carefully so that when it’s found in a box, many generations from now, it will also serve as a legacy for the child that inspired it. I get more pleasure than I can describe from looking at children’s artwork and trying to recreate it.  I am beyond honored to be a part of their stories.

I plan to continue to make these quilts indefinitely, as long as I am financially able.  I use only quality materials and they are not inexpensive.  It is my paying customers that allow me to continue to make gifts.  As long as I can rustle up a few paying customers, I will make quilts for the families of Ronald McDonald House.

I have always been a person who goes after what they want; who makes things happen; that type of person.  In my retirement years, I have been overcome with the feeling that it’s time to stop that; to just relax and see what comes to me.  This new approach to life is working miraculously for me.  Not one aspect of my quilt making has been my own idea.  Each step has occurred because someone asked me to do something or encouraged me to do something.  Two years ago I could not have imagined that I would be doing the things that I’m doing today and I’ve never been happier.  As I said earlier, I am beyond honored to be a part of the Ronald McDonald House and the families that I sew for.  Sincere thanks to all of you.

The brown ground behind the playground at our Ronald McDonald House will soon be growing goodness for families staying at our House.

If you’re passion is your vegetable garden, you probably think of your garden even in the winter. Otherwise, most folks may not be thinking of gardening in February, even though it has been unusually warm during the start of the month. We here at the Ronald McDonald House, however, have been thinking of gardening because we’re excited about our a new garden – our garden – behind the House!

RMHC recently acquired older houses behind our main building and those structures had to be demolished because they were in terrible condition. “With two empty parcels now within our fenced area we wanted to beautify the space,” says our Volunteer Director, Kate Becker. So with the plan green-lit, and funding from a grant approved by Scott’s Miracle Gro via The Columbus Foundation, it was decided that the 8,000 square-foot space would become a garden full of tomatoes, herbs, beans, squash, broccoli and flowers.

“Our intention is that we will use the produce that we grow to help feed the families staying here,” Becker said. “Since we have a Chef on staff who is focused on creating healthy homemade meals for our families this was a perfect fit.”

A view of the garden area beyond the basketball court behind our main building and Houses.

Of course, it doesn’t just take money to make a garden happen, it takes gardeners. With help and enthusiasm for the prospect of a garden at our House, regular volunteer Bill Mount jumped at the opportunity to help get this piece of our new property growing. Mount is an experienced gardener with contacts in the world of community-gardening, so his help will be invaluable.

Stay tuned for updates about the garden as spring comes!

Groups from Cardinal Health volunteer on a regular basis at our Ronald McDonald House, giving more than a thousand hours of their time. The company supports our families in many ways. On January 29, the volunteers made lunch for our families and helped clean up our dining room. The organizer of the group, Michael Heller, knows the stress of having a child inpatient at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, so he can relate to the parents staying with us. Christina Keegan has volunteered many times with Cardinal Health, but this is her first time volunteering at the House and loved the experience. Hear them talk about their experiences in a video tribute we’ve put together from the recent visit. You can watch the video by clicking the image below. Thanks to Cardinal Health and its employees for helping us keep families near their hospitalized children.

 

For nearly two years, Paula Johnson Neal has been a volunteer at our Ronald McDonald House. She currently staffs our front desk on the first Sunday of every month and greets arriving visitors and families with her warm smile. The Sunday afternoon shift is typically the busiest check-in time for families. Professionally, Paula has worked as a teacher and preschool director for 25 years. She currently works at the YWCA of Columbus as the preschool director over the organization’s center serving children experiencing temporary homelessness.  In addition to volunteering in her spare time, she enjoys zip lining and writing.

Her interest in serving children and families in their deepest times of need matches RMHC’s mission to create, find and support programs that directly improves the health and well-being of children and their families. Paula says witnessing families in distress can be heartbreaking, however, she believes the benefits of being a comforting resource outweigh it. “My employment and volunteer status reminds me that we never know what children and their families are going through. The importance of teaching kindness to all – especially children – needs to start early.”

This past June, Paula decided to combine her love of writing with her love of children by becoming a published author of a children’s book titled, “I’M GONNA HAVE A GOOD DAY!” As Paula describes it, “It’s is a multicultural children’s picture book that provides a window into a classroom involving a bully named Gabby. Gabby wants to have her kind of day at the expense of her classmates.” Fed up with Gabby’s words, “I’M GONNA HAVE A GOOD DAY,” not matching up with her actions, Gabby’s classmates take a stance. “The book’s cliffhanger provides an opportunity as a conversation starter for teachers and parents with children to discuss the importance of instilling and displaying kindness,” Paula says.

Paula points out that the urgency of the message this book carries during this critical time in our society can’t be understated. “This book is very important because children, as young as 4 years of age are experiencing some form of bullying type behavior in preschool, grade school and on the playground.” Paula goes on to say that, “Many may argue young children are learning how to socially and emotionally interact with their peers. Sadly, behaviors that are precursors to bullying and actual bullying do exist in many early childhood settings.” In addition, Paula adds, when consciously and unconsciously left unaddressed, rather than used as teachable moments, “children displaying precursor behavior and children on the receiving end may enter kindergarten socially-emotionally ill-prepared.”

Editor’s Note: Paula has chosen to further support the mission of the RMHC by donating a portion of the books proceeds during the month of January to RMHC of Central Ohio. Her book can be purchased on her website, paulajohnsonneal.com.

On Christmas morning, many folks were waking up early to prepare for excited children, (who may have already been awake), to open presents under the tree. But the Lyons Family, along with the Laube, Davies and Jones Families, were all waking up early to prepare for something different. They were headed to the Columbus Ronald McDonald House to make breakfast for families having to stay at the House. Donna Lyons says she got the idea to bring her young daughter to make the holiday morning breakfast for families after she had volunteered at the House putting up Christmas trees. That was 27 years ago. They’ve come to make breakfast every Christmas morning since then, growing the team along the way. In this video, Donna introduces the family members who served our families the morning of December 25. Thank you to these families who have made this particular meal a Christmas tradition.

By Rick Shepherd, Communications Manager

Here at the Ronald McDonald House in Columbus, we’re fortunate to have the support of many organizations in the Central Ohio area. One of the comments we often get from folks who participate with groups that come to the House is how much they gain by being here. Meal groups participating in our Team Cuisine program learn new cooking tips. Cleaning groups pick up household tricks for removing tough stains. Some volunteer groups learn tips about making simple household repairs from our team of volunteer craftsmen. Beyond those more obvious gains, there’s also the reminder and appreciation for what you have and just the satisfaction of giving your time. Sharing the love just feels good to the one who is sharing. But the benefits of working at the House can have even more of an impact for special needs students who regularly come to help our House.

For these students, learning even more about life at the House helps them to grow to become their full potential. Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio partners with Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities in a program called Summer Youth Work Experiences where students get real-world work experience as they help to keep our House in tip-top shape. OOD recently produced a video which follow the work of Max, one of the students that benefits from working at the Ronald McDonald House. You can watch the video here:

Sometimes, the special needs students who come to the House also leave a positive impression on our families and their child patient. Be the One is a program that was started at Walnut Ridge High School by Dawn Heideman, a teacher in the Columbus City School District, after witnessing the impact of tragedy on a student’s life. Dawn decided that she would be the one individual to provide comfort, guidance, and encouragement to students who had experienced traumatic anger, depression, & loss in hopes that those students will be the one person to go on to make a difference in another young person’s life too.  The program expanded two years ago to Linden-McKinley High School and now helps 125 students who have been through traumatic life experiences at a young age.

Several times a year, Dawn brings her students here to the Ronald McDonald House to meet families of seriously ill children and to spread joy by hanging seasonal decorations in our large dining room. Last year, her students met with a patient named Orian from Maryland staying at the House. The students and Orian developed a bond after learning that he had been bullied because of his disabilities. Inspired by the Six Word Memoir project, Be the One students were encouraged to write a book of their own experiences for Orian who has been encouraged by the book every day. Read about the Be the One’s gift of the group’s book to Orian in a blog from Six Word Memoirs by clicking here.

Judy Skinner has been volunteering at the Ronald McDonald Family Room since it opened.

On June 27, 2017, Judy Skinner worked her last day as a volunteer at the Columbus Ronald McDonald House after serving families there for 35 years. over that time, she had been featured in many social media posts, blogs, and news items about her service to our families. But when she walked away from the House on that day in 2017, she didn’t stop volunteering for RMHC of Central Ohio altogether. In fact, within a month of leaving her position as Housewarmer at the House, she went to work volunteering at the newly opened Ronald McDonald Family Room at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital. The RMFR doesn’t have a full-time paid staff member. It is a volunteer who keeps the room open and available every day for family members who have a baby in the NICU or a child who has been admitted to the hospital. For those family members who visit the room when Judy happens to be volunteering, they get the attention of our most experienced volunteer and a mother who understands the importance of having a space for respite while caring for an ill child in a hospital.

Judy and Tom Skinner had a 13-year-old child undergoing treatment at Children’s Hospital in the late 1970s and RMHC of Central Ohio did not yet exist. “Greg, our son, had leukemia for 14 months and passed away,” Judy tells us. She says she never forgot the families she and her husband saw at the hospital adding, “It seemed the best thing to do following that experience would be to volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House. It was my main way to help people who had been in my same situation.” So, after volunteering at the House since it opened in 1982, and through it’s expansion in 2014 to become the largest Ronald McDonald House in the world, Judy, who lives in Clintonville, felt it was time to slow things down a bit, but not stop completely.  “The Ronald McDonald Family Room was a nice way to continue helping in some way, closer to home. Talking with families going through that same situation feels good because I know it helps them.”

The RMFR at Riverside Methodist Hospital just celebrated it’s second anniversary. Thanks to volunteers like Judy, thousands of families have been able to find respite from the stress of having a child in the hospital, if just for a moment. This month, RMHC of Central Ohio kicks off a volunteer-driven campaign to support the Ronald McDonald Family Room. If you would like to show your appreciation to volunteers such as Judy, for keeping the RMFR open and available for families, click here to learn more about the #MyWhy fundraiser.

Volunteer George Geissbuhler finishes a day of power washing at the House by giving our front bench occupant a quick shower.

Just after the new Nationwide Children’s Hospital tower opened,  a volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House invited a friend – whom he knew to be a talented woodworker – to join him and check out the large wooden animal sculptures in the hospital’s new building. After the two checked out that new building, the volunteer brought his friend across the street and gave him a tour of the Ronald McDonald House. It was at that moment that George Geissbuhler decided he would volunteer at the House that his friend had shown him. It’s now been three years this month that George has been one of our craftsmen volunteers and he says, “This is just quite fun. I love it.”

George has the most fun working with wood (he also volunteers at the Furniture Bank), here at the Ronald McDonald House. Yet, he not only helps to fix furniture, he also works on all kinds of projects including cleaning filters & fixing air conditioners. “We do the stuff that nobody else wants to do,” he says. “I would say the least enjoyable for us, mostly, is sanding a room. You remove the wallpaper and you have to sand the wall of the glue and then paint it at lunch, then paint it again,” he explains. Then George corrects himself, “Actually, the worst job, is grinding the floor when we’re replacing the floor in a room with water damage. It’s a job that’s not very pleasant, but it’s a VERY good feeling when you’re all done when a room was just kind of beat up and when you’re all done, it’s just like a brand new hotel room.”

Although George points out the toughest jobs he has hated at the House, he quickly pivots to let you know, “I can’t imagine not coming here, frankly.” He shares that he knows he and the other craftsmen are needed here because of the families who need the House. George remembers, “We were at one of the Christmas Dinners here, and sat with a couple. It was a mother and a son. He had multiple surgeries. Hearing their story – they live in West Virginia and they were coming up like once a month. She said, ‘This place is like a home to us.’” George says hearing their story prompted him to confess to the family, “Your story is really why I’m volunteering.” He adds, “They couldn’t say enough nice things about the Ronald McDonald House and it just makes you appreciate… I have 3 children… how healthy they are and never had to stay at a place like this.”

George says he’s only toured one other Ronald McDonald House and that was while he and his wife were on a recent trip to New Zealand. They noticed a donation box for the local Ronald McDonald House sitting at the lobby’s front desk of their hotel. George asked where the House was located and decided with his wife that they would get a cab to go check it out. He says the House manager was so hospitable, giving the couple an hour tour of the House, and leaving them with a gift before they left. It was a rock with the Wellston RMHC logo hand-painted on it! One of only 5 that a mother staying at the House had painted.

George holds a painted rock with the Wellston, New Zealand Ronald McDonald House logo.

George treasurers this rock given to him by a mom staying at the Wellston, New Zealand Ronald McDonald House.

He’s known at the House for his woodwork, making everything from the donation box at the Ronald McDonald Family Room at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital to wooden golf bag tags for golf outing participants and the plaque given to the golf classic’s namesake, Joe Mortellaro. But George tells us he’ll be making wooden items for sale at the upcoming holiday bazaar at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, so you can take home some of George’s work yourself. And, he says all of the proceeds from his items at the bazaar will go to RMHC of Central Ohio. Thank you, George, for all of the work you’ve done for the House over the last three years, including sharing your woodwork talent!

An example of George’s branded woodwork sits in the display case near our front desk.