By: Maria Slayman
My experience with the Ronald McDonald House is enriched by the connections made with the guests, volunteers and staff of the house. My journey started as a Volunteer in 2012 and now I am working full time as a Family Service Liaison. I am fortunate to be at the house nearly every day to witness how love works. Sharing our hearts and stories shows just how important we can be to each other. Each of us has the ability to help another. We just have to be open to the opportunity and let it happen. Here is an example that was shared with me recently by one of our guests.
Upon checking out of the house, a mother and father shared their story of hometown support. Their daughter is fighting cancer and her community is fighting right along beside her. She hasn’t been able to go to school lately, nor take the school bus. Her classmates have missed her. Seeing their struggle, the bus driver came up with a way that they could support Sara. He placed a box on the dashboard of the bus with a sign collecting money for Sara. He informed the students that any money donated would go to help Sara’s family. On Monday a little girl asked the bus driver how long he would keep the box on the dashboard of the bus. He told her that he would collect until the end of the week on Friday. On Tuesday she got on the bus with a big smile and put $2 in the box. She showed the bus driver her smile with one tooth missing and said that the money she deposited was what she found under her pillow from the tooth fairy overnight. She insisted that the bus driver keep the box available until Friday…she had one more tooth that was loose. She was working hard on getting it loosened in time!
This is just one example of the many ways that the community has supported our guests and the Ronald McDonald House. Big and small, contributing both time, energy and money. Just be open to the possibility of showing you care. It may not be really obvious at first, but even a small kindness goes a long way. A smile can send someone off on their day in a positive way. Each day I am blessed to see the many ways that people help each other. We are so grateful for all of the many contributions made by you and the Central Ohio community.
