Piece by Piece
January 13, 2016
By Lindsey Beggin, Volunteer
I will be honest and tell you that my reasons for volunteering at this House in the first place were purely selfish. I was completely broken when I showed up for my first volunteer shift, so much, in fact, that I almost left in tears before I hit the door. A month earlier my brother broke his neck in the ocean, was life-flighted to the hospital, hooked up to a ventilator and deemed a quadriplegic. That following month was trying on my family and I as we all balanced visiting Austin in Chicago and working back home. For the next six months, Ronald McDonald Houses were our homes away from home when we visited, and my mother’s while she wasn’t staying with my brother in the hospital. RMHC gave my family so much more than just a place to eat and sleep during the scariest times of our lives, they gave us hope and such a loving community of support.
No matter how much they change, this house, these walls, and these people will always be my home away from home. I will never be able to articulate even a fraction of the impact this House has had on my life. Here in Columbus I’ve met some of the strongest, most beautiful people and I’ve seen unexpected corners of the community come together for the greater good. I’ll never be able to repay my debt to this House. I may have been broken that afternoon I first walked through those doors, but piece by piece this House helped me put myself back together again.
Keeping Families Close
September 9, 2015

Life at the Columbus Ronald McDonald House is an experience I will never forget. I was on my one weekend a month drill as an Ohio Army National Guard soldier in Portsmouth, Ohio, where I live temporarily because of school. My fiancé and I reside in Zanesville on days there is no school and drill.
During the month of May drill, she texts me to tell me her water broke. I replied and said “stop joking-it’s not funny.” She replied with “I’m serious-I’m
in an ambulance on my way to Columbus because it’s getting complicated.” I was astonished and speechless because the pregnancy was only 24 weeks.
After every procedure was over with at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, our daughter was transferred to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and there were a few of questions running through my head. “Is our baby going to make it?” “Where are we going to live for all of this?” “Why did this happen at only 24 weeks” I couldn’t find these answers, but on our second day at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, we were immediately given a place to stay, eat, and do everything to continue living our life at no cost.
The care, love, and warm hands Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio opened to us gave me lots of hope. I remember asking the manager if I can help in anyway during my stay here. They said “no, my dear, we want you to feel at home at have time for your baby!” The Columbus Ronald McDonald House is truly a house of hope.