Recently, Shala Graham, a student at Licking Valley High School, presented a speech centered on Columbus’ Ronald McDonald House as part of a competition at the school.  In an email, Shala’s teacher, Amanda Suttle, explained the competition called, the Nonprofit Persuasive Speech project: “I loved the project because it covered so many learning standards I teach (research, reading, informative and persuasive writing, outlining, speaking & listening) with a focus on helping others that also gave the students complete freedom in their choices of the topic (problem & charity).”

Suttle continued, “The process involved students researching a societal problem they cared about and a charity that addresses it. Using their researched sources, they wrote informative pieces about both the problem and the charity with the goal to “teach” me about both of them in their writing. They then outlined a persuasive speech using skills we had just begun to practice in class before school closed. Their goal was to convince their classmates to contribute to the charity by persuading them about both the seriousness of the problem and the effectiveness of the charity. They recorded videos of their speeches…everyone could view everyone else’s videos. I told them they had $500 in fake money to “donate” in $50 increments to the classmates whose speeches they found most convincing. Shala won for her class by a landslide.”

Then, Suttle turned the fake donations into real donations by asking her neighbors in Worthington for contributions to give to the charities supported in the winning speeches from her four “English 11” classes. She collected $460, so that brought in $115 dollars to RMHC of Central Ohio from Shala’s speech.

You can hear her speech by clicking the image above, or read the transcript of her speech below.

Thank you, Shala & Ms. Suttle, for sharing this with our community!

We have all had to stay at a hospital before. Some of us for a day but others longer. How
did you feel? Alone. Frustrated. Anxious. Well for more than 3 million kids around the world, this
is an everyday problem. Worldwide, families are forced to struggle financially and emotionally as
they stay beside their ill child’s side. Struggling to commute between the hospital and their job to
make ends meet. Things like hospital, hotel, gas, and parking bills can add up quickly. While I
hate to say it, this can happen to anyone. Anyone at any time can be faced with an illness that is
going to need far more advanced and specialized treatment than what Genesis or Licking
Memorial can give.

The Ronald McDonald House Charities do just that. They provided families with “a
home-away-from-home.” A place to sleep, eat, and relax at little or not cost so families do not
have to stress about the financial impact. The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Columbus,
Ohio work very close with Nationwide Children’s Hospital to provide the best care for thousands
of families.

You should donate to the Ronald McDonald House Charities because the only way these
charities stay open is through donations.

Did you know that there were over 375 Ronald McDonald House Charities in 67
countries and territories with the largest one being located in Columbus, Ohio? The Columbus,
Ohio Ronald McDonald House works very closely with Nationwide Children’s Hospital to
provide the best up-front care for Ohioans and other surrounding states.

The Ronald McDonald House Charities “serve more than 4,500 families…by providing
over 82,000 nights. ” You might ask, how do they make it though because it costs nearly 3
million dollars annually to operate [one] RMHC.” Several ways really. I know that the RMHC in
Columbus, Ohio only has about 20 employees which include secretaries and cooks. All of the
cleaning and disinfecting is done by local groups, organizations, or volunteers, saving them over
3 million dollars in paid labor. All of the pop tabs that people collect to donate to the RMCH,
covers their whole electric bill for the year.

So as I said at the beginning, there are two main problems that the Ronald McDonald
House Charities are there to relieve. One of them being the financial problem and the other being
the emotional problems that many families and children go through while they are being treated.
The nurses and employees at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and the Ronald McDonald charity
house work very hard to make the atmosphere as comfortable as possible for the families.

Story of Rylee C, who was impacted by the RMHC. At only age seven, she was due for
a heart transplant and they turned to Nationwide’s Children Hospital. The only problem for her
family was “it isn’t quite the same as the 50-acre farm she’s used to in her home state of West
Virginia,” forcing her family to travel back and forth for work. Her grandpa described the dreaded
act of going home every week to work because “it makes you not want to leave because you
just know, just any day, any minute, any second, they’re going to come in and say ‘we have a
heart’.” While the family was traveling, they knew that the nurses and doctors were going to take
good care of her, Rylee was very curious about her treatment, asking all the questions she
could, “the nurses even threw her a big birthday party, and all of them came: even some of them
who weren’t working.” While the family had a hard time battling the heart transplant, they knew
that their daughter was in good hands.

While I have not stayed at the RMHC, I have gotten the privilege of helping them out in a
more statewide event. Over the summer of 2019, I got the opportunity to help out this charity
first hand, through the Dean’s Charity Steer Show. I was first approached at the 2019 Ohio Beef
Expo by Bill Tom, the Ohio State Fair Beef Coordinator and asked if I would participate. I said
yes, of course. I later found out that I was going to be paired up with ABC News Sports
Broadcaster, Clay Hall, to teach him how to show a steer. This was a great opportunity for me
because I got to meet someone I never thought I would get the opportunity to meet, teach him
about something I am very passionate about, and help out the Ronald McDonald House
Charities. Clay came over to my house 3 times to practice over the summer and the event took
place on Tuesday, July 3, 2019 at the Ohio State Fair’s Voinovich Center. More than one
thousand spectators watched in person and more than nine thousand streamed it on Facebook
live. 12 other exhibitors and I along with our celebrities first did a ‘show’ where 3 awards were
given: Best Showman, Best Steer, and People’s Choice. After the show, a ‘sale’ was then held
(no transaction on cattle took place). At the end of the day, more than $152,000 was raised for
the RMHC of Central Ohio.

As I stated before, The RMHC relies heavily on donations to keep their facilities up and
running smoothly. Anyone can be affected by an illness that needs more advanced medical
attention. I have gotten the opportunity to support this charity first hand and I have walked
through the facility and seen the impact that it has on the community. Do not think twice about
putting your change in a donation box for the Ronald McDonald House Charities.

The following article is based on answers from an e-mail interview translated from Polish to English.

Back in his home country of Poland, Marcel Samol wasn’t given very good odds of surviving a brain tumor that’s known as one of the most aggressive in children. Embryonal tumors with multilayered rosettes, otherwise known at ETMR, occurs in children aged 4 and under, mostly in children under 2 and is fatal 75% of the time. “I will also add the fact that in Poland they confused Marcel’s diagnosis,” says Karolina Brenk, Marcel’s mother. She and Marcel’s father, Artur, then began looking for help abroad. Karolina says, “Professor Jonathan Finlay from Nationwide Children’s Hospital came to the rescue,” adding, “He gave us a light in the tunnel and thanks to him we also knew the correct diagnosis. After 2 months since Marcel became ill we were already in the USA and Marcel started treatment.” Money was the biggest obstacle for Marcel’s parents, needing $850,000 for Marcel’s treatment at NCH. But they were able to get tremendous support from their community back home. “We managed to collect the entire amount in just 13 days and on January 19 we flew out for a new life.”

Karolina says they learned about our Ronald McDonald House from another family from Poland who had stayed previously. The family was relieved they could stay right next to the hospital and wouldn’t have to have another huge expense of  having to pay for a place while staying in Columbus. As Karolina describes it, staying at our House did take some getting used to. A few things were different from back in Poland. “First of all, we were surprised that there are no quilts with bedding, only bedspreads.”

Marcel and his family have been staying with us for about 4 months and will need to stay for a few more months. Karolina says Artur is also very happy that they’ve found a place here. She says, “during this hard period, we have a piece of “home””.  She writes that the family really enjoys the family kitchens the most pointing out, with a smiley face, “We can cook our Polish dishes here because we don’t like American food.” Karolina says another favorite spot at the House has been the big back yard, which has been very important because the family doesn’t have the ability to leave the hospital campus during the pandemic.

As so many families often do, Marcel celebrated a very special day while staying at the House recently. He turned one year old at the beginning of May and our family activities manager, Abigail Brumme, was determined to help the family make sure Marcel had a traditional Polish first birthday. It was truly a momentous occasion with a cake donated by local bakery, The End Dessert Company, sparkling juice, and presents. Karolina says this will be a very special memory of their time staying at our House. “It was magical and beautiful! But above all, Marcel was smiling all the time and that was our goal!” Due to the need for

When asked what she would like to tell our community of staff, volunteers, & donors if she was in a room with everyone, she said, “I would like them to know that there are people here who are open-hearted to help families in this difficult time. Certainly, thank each one individually and hug each for how wonderful the work they do. Not everyone is able to sacrifice themselves and give their heart to help people. It is a beautiful gift and certainly each of them will be rewarded in their lives for the beautiful deeds they do. I would like to tell them that they are great! Great and thanks to people like them – we parents can peacefully fight for the lives of our children, for which we will be grateful for the rest of our lives. 🙂 ”

As for the future prognosis for Marcel, Karolina says, “Prospects for the future, we hope that they are the best because Marcel is a brave boy and treatment has gone very well, but with cancer you can never be sure. However, we live with good hope and we stick to it.”   She ends her note to us with, “Pozdrawiam serdecznie!” or Best wishes!

We certainly wish the best for Marcel, Karolina, & Artur too.

Two frequent guests to our Ronald McDonald House have become close friends over the years as they’ve crossed paths at our House several times. Ashton Zari and Christin Love are always having fundraisers to give back to their “home away from home”.  Now they’re working together to raise money for the House with a virtual art auction. Click here to see the story by our own Red Shoe Society member, Matt Barnes on NBC4.

To check out the art pieces these two have created along with Xander Love (no relation to Christin), click here before the end of the month when the auction ends.

This is so sweet. We recently received this message on Facebook about quite a collection of pop-tabs to be donated to our Ronald McDonald House. It’s a good reminder that pop-tabs help our House. We get thousands of dollars worth of pop tabs every year and we use the revenue to pay the electric bill at our House.

Hello, my son Cody and I and Cody’s Grandma have stayed there many times. Cody has seen the house that holds pop tabs when we have been there. Cody wanted to save pop tabs and we had a teacher at his school make saving pop tabs a competition with the different grades to see what grade would collect the most tabs. We also had a few gas stations we put fliers in with a can to collect tabs, we also had a few local bars collecting tabs. I shared what we were doing on Facebook and that we were collecting tabs for the Ronald McDonald house where we stay and it went viral. The newspaper heard about what we were doing and put an article in the paper on the front page! We had people mailing us tabs from all over the United States. This was so Awesome!! I can believe how many we collected. I believe it was like 900 pounds of tabs. I am also sending you a picture (above) and a video of what Cody has accomplished. He is so proud of what he has done. The next time we come for a visit to Nationwide Children’s Hospital we will be bringing them. Cody said you better have someone build a bigger house for the tabs to be collected in. lol!

– Melissa Winburn, Marseilles, Illinois

When Jeff Heimberger was very young, he almost drowned. The co-owner/operator of Coffee Connections in Central Ohio is the living embodiment of a medical miracle. As his mom, Alice, described in a letter to her son about those terrifying days years ago, it was a “great contrast between trauma and calm.” The calm came from the support Jeff’s family received from staying at a Ronald McDonald House. Jeff shared the letter with us and we’ve highlighted some excerpts from the letter here.

In the letter, she describes the start of that fateful day. “Picture about 70 people at a church picnic. Lots of good food, followed by laughing, talking, kids and teens having great fun in the pool. Later on, “Time for lemonade & ice cream” and everyone headed across the yard. Well, all but the 3-year-old boy who, unseen by the others, fell into the water.” That little boy, was Jeff. As Jeff’s mom described it, the teens at the party ran back to the pool after quickly finishing the ice cream and one tossed a quarter into the deep end of the pool, challenging the others to find it. Jeff’s 13-year-old brother, Paul, outran the others and dove in. Instead of the quarter, he found his brother’s lifeless body at the bottom of the pool.

“[Your] father, a nurse anesthetist with considerable experience in high stress situations, and another medical professional were right there. They did CPR, noting there was no response of pupils to a flashlight. This was really bad. Daddy hoped for intubation supplies in the ambulance. Oh, no. Adult-sized only. He felt helpless, stunned, & scared,” she wrote about Jeff’s dad, Dale, frantically trying to save his son.

Jeff was taken by ambulance to a local hospital in northeast Ohio, then flown by helicopter to Akron Children’s Hospital where he was put on a ventilator while in a coma. Leaving Jeff’s brother Paul & sister Janelle with family, his mom & dad drove to be with their son. Alice says, upon arrival, she and Dale were told Jeff “might not make it through the night and also that young children who do survive a drowning usually have little or no long-term damage or else severe physical and mental impairment. It was a harrowing night. For the siblings, thoughts of the day and not knowing what was happening to their brother were intensified by separation from their parents.”

Alice writes about waiting for hours for brief times of standing at Jeff’s bedside and watching him hooked-up to tubes to keep him alive. She describes the staff, monitors, beeping/flashing equipment and other kids in the ICU in life-threatening conditions as being overwhelming. She goes on to say, “Then, back to the waiting room, in close proximity to the number of others experiencing and expressing details of their grief and trauma. Hours of clock-watching and overhearing the telling and retelling of nightmares all too real.”

Fortunately, the next morning, young Jeff came out of his coma and was moved out of ICU to a regular room. “At that point, Ronald McDonald House became home for dad, mom, brother, & sister for several days until discharge,” Jeff’s mom wrote. “What a sigh of relief: a place to gather the family from their scattering and to begin healing from the shattering scare. It provided privacy and a calming atmosphere. Ahh. A shower, beds, space, home-prepared food, non-intrusive but very caring support from volunteers.”

She tells her son in the letter that one of the setbacks he was having during the recovery was very unnerving. “…at first you fell down whenever you tried to walk and asked the same question over & over. Having been warned of possible impairments, this was very troubling. I went from Ronald McDonald House at 3 a.m. to ask nurses to check your medicine side effects that were listed under Dilaudid, which you received because of seizures in the helicopter due to brain swelling. It’s good just knowing there are Ronald McDonald Houses for those difficult situations, those needing ready accessibility to hospitals, financial help, family stability, ability to be supportive to their patient and in communication with medical personnel as directly as possible, etc. They are also beneficial to the folks who participate as community helpers – a sense of purpose, an outlet for kindness, through practical service to others…”

The happy ending to this story, of course, is that Jeff was released from the hospital and had none of the lingering affects forewarned to his parents by doctors that are so common after a near drowning. Thanks to Jeff for sharing this miraculous story as written to him by his mom for this special Mother’s Day post.

Editor’s Note: Last year, Jeff’s cafe, raised hundreds of dollars for RMHC of Central Ohio. Now, during the month of May, Coffee Connections is, again, donating tips to help us during the Covid-19 crisis as we continue to keep families close to their hospitalized kids.  While the other locations are temporarily closed during the pandemic, you can order items for pick-up (and add a tip) at the Hilliard Coffee Connections everyday 7 a.m. – 12 p.m. by ordering through the cafe’s app. Download the app by texting “coffee” to 484848 or go to coffeeconnections.me/app. (Closed Sunday for Mother’s Day. ❤)

At Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio, we continue to support our families of seriously ill children during this unsettling time. The global pandemic adds worry to their already stressful situation and compromised health. We are committed to providing clean and healthy family-centered spaces for families to rest and recharge. Our families rely on us to provide warm meals, daily essentials, and a safe place to rest their heads at night. And when there’s a crisis, our support is even more essential, providing families with a sense of relief and stability in their already challenging lives. The health and well-being of our guest families, staff, and the communities in which we serve is, and always will be, our first priority. Therefore, in order to prevent exposure and the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), we have made the following changes:

• We have temporarily suspended volunteer activity within the House, including the meal program that provides meals for our families. With the suspension of this vital program, or House is taking on the added expense to ensure that our families have the nourishing meals they need to fight for their child.
• We have postponed our fundraising events, but are rescheduling them all for a later time.
• We are following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations for protective gear and commercial cleaning products to provide additional protection for our families and staff.

We remain focused on our core mission of providing overnight accommodations and support for the families of hospitalized children. The above changes will have a significant impact on our operating budget, and your help is critical as we continue to care for families during this global crisis. With challenging times come opportunities for heroes to emerge and assist those in great need.

Please be our hero and make a donation to our Coronavirus Response Fund to help support our families during these challenging times. Any donation helps in providing a safe place for families of hospitalized children.

With your support, we are incredibly grateful to be able to keep families together and close to the resources they need.

Bianca and her family pose for a family portrait.

Eight-year-old Bianca of Monroe County, West Virginia loves to dance. Her mother, Cortney White, says Bianca is especially fond of ballet, jazz and hip-hop. When Bianca was diagnosed with Leukemia last October, Cortney says the news came as a sudden and complete shock. “I never realized the importance and significance of the small things that I took for granted until they were stripped from our life in one afternoon.” Even now, you might not realize the active gymnast and artist is in a battle against cancer. Cortney says of her daughter, “She has fought this horrible disease with beauty and grace. I feel so fortunate and blessed to spend every day with the happiest and the most positive person I know. She is always smiling and laughing. She brightens my days.”

Bianca and her family started on this medical journey when Bianca got her diagnosis at CAMC Women & Children’s Hospital in Charleston, West Virginia. Cortney says, “Immediately, I knew that I had to find her the best possible treatment and facility. I started researching and Nationwide Children’s Hospital was ranked #4 in the nation for children’s cancer hospitals.” Cortney says they felt fortunate to have such a world-renowned hospital in a neighboring state. She arranged for Bianca to be transferred the very next day after she was diagnosed.

Cortney says when they arrived in Columbus, she immediately felt better. “I knew this was where we needed to be.” It was from a hospital social worker that Cortney found out about the Ronald McDonald House. She says she wasn’t familiar with RMHC, but when she learned about the House across the street from the hospital, she was relieved. “Hearing that Bianca and I would have a place to call home during treatment gave me hope,” she exclaimed. “I had no idea such facilities existed. It still seems unreal to me that the generosity of volunteers and donors have made it possible for my family to stay close next door to the hospital, while receiving treatment.”

Though Bianca’s grandmother, her father, and brother have all stayed at the House at different times with Bianca since they arrived last fall, the coronavirus forced the House to make limitations on the number of guests who could stay beginning in March. Cortney admits it’s been hard leaving Bianca’s six-year-old brother Brandon back on the family’s farm for weeks on end. She knows it’s also been a challenge for Bianca to be away from her home, family, and friends for great lengths of time. But, she adds, “The Ronald McDonald House has given us the opportunity to establish a home away from home. We Facetime, text, and Bianca loves SnapChat to communicate with her family and close friends daily.” Cortney appreciates the measures the House has taken to keep everyone safe during these unprecedented times. “Everyone is wearing a mask and performing social distancing to keep everyone safe during this pandemic. The Ronald McDonald House is following the same protocol as Nationwide Children’s Hospital, which makes me feel like I’m bringing my daughter into a safe environment.”

Cortney believes staying at the House has had an impact on Bianca’s treatment too. “Staying here, at the Ronald McDonald House, has helped my daughter receive the best of care. She goes to the hospital Monday thru Friday for infusion chemotherapy.” “Without the House,” Cortney says, “…our journey, I’m sure, would have been a lot different. I am forever grateful and thankful that we are here, and my daughter is receiving the best care possible. It is truly been a blessing.”

Bianca points out her ornaments on a holiday tree in the dining room at the Ronald McDonald House.

Though she and her daughter are here on a health journey that’s been tough, Cortney points out that her family is grateful for having enjoyed some special, pleasant memories while staying at the House. “During Christmas, Bianca enjoyed seeing the Grinch and Cindy Lou Who!” Cortney continues, “We love seeing the different decorations on display during the holidays… The atmosphere is one of joy and kindness here… it’s a beautiful thing to witness.”

What’s next? Cortney answers, “Our dream is for Bianca to be completely healed.” Cortney explains, “She looks forward to her last day of chemo when she can ring the bell and celebrate her victory. We look forward to the day that she can go back to living the life she once did. I want to see her in school with her classmates, take her to dance class and gymnastics. I want her to sleep in her bed at night, exchange Valentines with her friends, participate in the Christmas play at church, and enjoy her animals on the farm.”

While most of the world has hunkered down at home, due to the pandemic,  and folks leave just to get essentials or some exercise, our skeleton crew is still here, working to keep families as comfortable as possible while they must be staying here. We’re also working without the thousands of  volunteers that keep our House up and running. We asked a few of our operations staff members to tell us what work like has been like since Covid-19 came along and what makes them smile behind the medical masks we all have to wear these days.

Kate Becker is shown helping plant in the garden via this social media picture.

Kate Becker is our volunteer director. Though the majority of our volunteers have been asked to stay home at this time, there are a few volunteers still coming to the house somewhat regularly. For instance, work continues on the new volunteer-driven garden behind the House, mostly thanks to a few craftmen volunteers led by Bill Mount. The absence of our regular volunteers are sourly missed during this, national Volunteer Appreciation Week and Volunteer Appreciation Month. But Kate says the volunteer calendar really started to change over a month ago. “Meal and project groups began cancelling as corporate partners told their employees to stay home,” she said. “Almost overnight my team and I had to pivot to complete work more than 20,000 volunteers did previously.”

Instead of overseeing volunteer groups preparing breakfast, lunch & dinner for a hundred people, Kate’s staff became the sous-chefs working with our head chef Blair Arms, who usually works directly with meal groups.  “My staff balances helping to ensure we are still serving 3 meals a day, seven days a week, with restocking guest rooms, storing food donations and leftovers, doing laundry, and reaching out to the community to have meals catered for the families who are still living with us,” she says. “We’ve adjusted our schedules so that we’re covering as many hours in the day as possible, along with working on the weekends.  We’re now at a point where we’re starting to focus on helping the facilities team here with small renovations. Our House occupancy has gone down and the empty guest rooms have provided an opportunity for renovations that would have previously been hard to coordinate with a full-House.  We’re wearing many hats these days!”

Kate points out, though, that this has been a very inspirational time. “Through it all we’re been incredibly grateful and the Volunteer Department team has been so flexible and willing to jump-in where they are needed most.  It’s been a wonderful thing to see donations for food and cleaning supplies coming in from the community.  We’re proud to serve the families at RMHC of Central Ohio and willing to do whatever work is needed to ensure these families can be close to their sick children.”

Darla Stover takes a selfie at her desk while she works.

Our program director at RMHC of Central Ohio is Darla Stover. Family service managers make up the staff members in her department. It’s a job she knows well because she was once an FSM herself. She also spent some time working in our development department. Darla has been working second shift and helping out at the front desk, now that we have fewer FSMs working. She says, “While working second shift, I am helping the development department secure sponsorships as well as helping the volunteer department by doing laundry and stocking the housekeeping rooms.” Darla’s trademark smile may be hidden by the mask she must wear now, but it’s still there. “What makes me smile are dinners delivered to our families and staff from local restaurants,” she says. The dinners, donated by Everstream, are a real treat on second shift these days. “We are getting spoiled!” Darla says. She says that’s not the only thing that keeps her going these days. “Chocolate helps to de-stress as well daily workouts that the hospital wellness center has provided.”

Vicki Chappelear attends to the front desk at the House.

The program manager who works with Darla is Vicki Chappelear. Vicki supervises the family service managers. She used to be a family service manager as well, so she knows the work that she’s back doing again since the number of our family service managers at the House is smaller during the pandemic. In place of the volunteers that usually keep the front desk running, Vicki is there to help families on a daily basis. She says, “Things have been so quiet in the House with very few families and no volunteers. I have primarily been working at the front desk which has allowed me to interact more with the families something I really enjoy. Since we are mirroring the restrictions at the hospital, we have had many conversations with families about the changes. We are all helping each other navigate the new policies.”

As for having to constantly wear a mask these days, Vicki says that can be a challenge itself. “It has taken a while to get use to wearing a mask—I would not have made a good surgeon.” Like Darla, Vicki also finds herself doing work normally done by House volunteers. She says, “While not having volunteers, I have restocked rooms and done laundry. I enjoy doing laundry because the room is warm and smells good. I have enjoyed seeing all members of the staff come together to help keep the House running. I am truly blessed to be a part of this team!”

Vicki says, despite the coronavirus outbreak, her focus is unwavering. “Even though things are very different right now, the mission remains the same. We are still caring for families who have sick kids and walking that journey with them. We continue to celebrate with them when they get to go home or empathize when things are tough. There’s no place I’d rather be during this time than helping families during a difficult time.”

FSM Mike Berry takes a selfie at his usual work station.

Mike Berry continues to be a familiar face at the front desk, albeit, a face with a mask on. He’s one of the family service managers working through these challenging times at the House. “We are simply here for the families,” he says. “Over these past few weeks during our social distancing, we have dealt with heartache and celebrations. Not one of these families care about what’s happening in the world at this time. We are here providing comfort any possible way we can. That is why I continue to wake up everyday and come to work.”

Megan Renner takes a selfie for this blog while at her usual spot at the front desk.

Working with Mike often times is FSM Megan Renner. She says it’s a lot more quiet with fewer families in the House because siblings can’t stay at the House currently. What else makes it quieter in the House, we asked.  “Less volunteers… we miss you all and hope to see you back at the house soon!” What keeps a smile on her face under her mask? “Still seeing our families that are checked in reaching milestones daily, seeing them happy, less stressed due to our services,” she says.

Amanda Toth poses at the front desk with her new t-shirt. A guest recently held a fundraiser selling the t-shirts online.

Overnight manager Amanda Toth agrees with Megan that it is quieter in the House since the pandemic struck the U.S. “It’s a lot quieter in the house and not nearly as many families are here and little ones running around which makes me sad, but I know it’s safer for them to be home.” What makes Amanda smile bhend her mask? “Having families members come up to me and thank me for still working through these hard times and how much they appreciate us keeping our door open. A lot of them will tell me if it wasn’t for us they truly don’t know what they would do. Just that statement motivates me to continue to do what I’m doing no matter what is happening in the world.”

Thanks to all of our staff members taking on double duties and work usually done by volunteers. Our families would be going through a tough time even without a global pandemic, and our operations staff continues to work toward making their stay as comfortable as possible under the circumstances.

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.

Oftentimes, creativity shines brightest during hard days. Recently, 15-year-old chalk artist Cecilia Martyna, a student at Dublin Jerome High School, contacted us to ask if she could draw a picture of Ronald McDonald in front our Ronald McDonald House and we gladly accepted the offer. Friday afternoon, she completed this work facing the Ronald McDonald House on the sidewalk in front of our building in just over three hours. Within the next 24 hours, her artwork had been shared to over 1,000,000 people on social media, and her story was aired on television stations in Columbus and Cleveland. (See the progress of her work below)

By using her talent and taking time to create a special encouraging message like this one, Cecilia warmed the hearts of guests at the Ronald McDonald House, as well as front line workers at the Ronald McDonald House and Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Do you have an encouraging message to share with guests of the Ronald McDonald House, or our brave employees at Ronald McDonald House and Nationwide Children’s Hospital? Film a simple selfie video and post it to Facebook. Tag us @RMHCofCentralOhio, and encourage our guests and staff!

Thank you, Cecilia, for your contribution. This is a special gift that we will always hold in our hearts. You are an inspiration to our entire community!

Click here to see the story on 10TV.com