Dear Ronald McDonald House Volunteers and Staff,

The Columbus Ronald McDonald House

My husband and I would like to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts! Our baby, Clay, was transferred here very unexpectedly after being born prematurely. We have now spent almost a month at Nationwide Children’s Hospital as our son has grown and learned how to eat. We would not have been able to manage this without your help! We live two hours away and have a three year old son at home. While my husband has stayed home with our son, it has been a comfort knowing I had somewhere safe to stay that is so close to the hospital. This has allowed me to watch over our baby and be involved in his care. Everything from the room to the services you provide has went above and beyond. This is truly a wonderful place! Thank you all for being so good to our family!

Sincerely,

The Boggs Family

By Carly Damman

Students at Ohio University’s First Annual BobcaThon

February 14^th, 2015 marked a special day for both Ohio University students and the Columbus Ronald McDonald House. On that day, over 130 students came together to dance for 12 hours straight while raising a total of $18,173 dollars for Ronald McDonald House families. February 14^th marked the first ever dance marathon at Ohio University and the first ever dance marathon to raise support for RMHC of Central Ohio.

As an eager and ambitious college senior, I decided to help start BobcaThon at Ohio University. Little did I know it would land me a big girl job one day! BobcaThon became a reality due to hard work, passionate students and a desire to help the families staying at the Ronald McDonald House. What a bittersweet moment for me when February 14^th finally came around and the idea of a dance marathon became reality! Transitioning from being a student who helped plan the event to a full-time staff member at the Ronald McDonald House was a bit of a challenge for me at first. However, as soon as I stepped foot in the Student Center at Ohio University and saw the event come to life, the challenge was over and the celebration could begin! The students did such an incredible job honoring the families and embracing the atmosphere of a true dance marathon.

Remember Autumn Wehr from our blog in 2014? Here she is at BobcaThon with her mom, Carrie.

Reflecting on my tough transition from student to full-time staff member, I am repeatedly reminded of the transition families staying with us have to make. Can you imagine leaving your home, your friends, your family and your job to spend weeks, even months, at a hospital? It’s surely not an easy transition. It’s probably one of the hardest transitions a family ever has to make. My transition pales in comparison! I am so honored and so humbled to work for an organization that strives to serve families of seriously-ill children in their deepest time of need each and every day. I am beyond thrilled to continue working alongside BobcaThon students to make the dance marathon more successful each year.

For me, each hour of the 12 hour dance marathon symbolized an hour of anticipation for an RMHC family. An hour of waiting during a child’s surgery, an hour of celebration after a cure is found, an hour of praying for positive test results or an hour spent anxiously awaiting next steps on an already long journey. I admire the stamina of each BobcaThon dancer to stand on their feet for 12 hours straight but that’s nothing compared to the strength of our Ronald McDonald House families.

Remember to always take time to dance for the amazing families that stay at the Columbus Ronald McDonald House!

By Laura Hadley

As a Ronald McDonald House intern, I have been working to spread awareness for the “share your stripes” campaign. For the past week, I have been collecting pictures with people wearing red and white striped socks who are #forRMHC.

I began making calls to friends informing them that they could help raise money for the Ronald McDonald House by donating their extra change at local McDonald’s registers. I also asked if I could take photos of them in their socks to help spread awareness through social media. So here I was, with my 12 pairs of red and white striped socks setting off on a journey around Columbus to snap a couple pictures. Easy enough, right?

Wrong. I quickly learned it was going to be hard to get a hold of well-known people in Columbus, get them a pair of striped socks, and get their picture taken in a short time frame. I decided to shift my focus to college students. I was able to photograph students at both The Ohio State University and Denison University. Overall, I was happy with the pictures I was able to get.

While gathering photos, I learned a few things:

1. Gathering groups of college students is near impossible with everyone’s crazy schedules.
2. Trying to get a picture of a mini-pig in red and white striped socks is a lot harder than you would think.
3. Asking a simple favor from your friends may have more of an impact on them then you originally thought.

I found overwhelming support from my friends, which made my life a lot easier. Yet, while they all agreed to help me by putting on festive socks and letting me snap a picture, I never asked any of them to donate their money. I wasn’t even sure my out-of-state friends knew what the Ronald McDonald House was and what the organization offers to their guests. However, I kept collecting pictures and trying my best to explain what the pictures were for.

Sunday afternoon, a group of friends and I went to McDonald’s. Some of them had helped me with the photos and some hadn’t.  Not wanting to make a sales pitch, I did not remind them of the donation boxes. What happened next was truly an amazing feeling – as I watched my friends order and pay, I couldn’t help but notice them dropping their change into the RMHC donation boxes. Finally, it was my turn to order and make my donation. It was at this moment, I realized my work at the Ronald McDonald House had actually impacted people.

This project has taught me that a small favor, can lead to a small donation, which is making a big difference #forRMHC. How are you going to help?

By Madeline Hadley

Madeline (on the left), one of our summer interns

When I applied to be an intern at the Columbus Ronald McDonald House, I didn’t have any idea what I was getting myself into. To be honest, my choice to volunteer at the House’s office was really just a last-minute decision of how to spend the summer after my freshman year of college.

At the start of this summer, I had looked for jobs and internships but found nothing that really interested me. I remembered my older sister volunteering for the House a few years ago and knew that my aunt has worked closely with RMHC for several years, so I finally decided to utilize this connection and asked my aunt for someone to contact about volunteering. With my Business Administration and Marketing interests in mind, she advised me to reach out to Marketing Director, Ryan Wilkins and Marketing Coordinator, Mackenzie Schuler.

In less than a week, I started my internship. Little did I know that my position would entail much more than just marketing work. Throughout the month I’ve been here, I have done everything from bagging brownies for the Golf Outing to helping set up hundreds of center pieces for the Thirty-One Gifts Conference, in addition to assisting Ryan and Mackenzie in revamping the House’s marketing publications.

Along the way, I have worked with some incredible people who make the Ronald McDonald House such a special and inviting place for both guests and volunteers. I always feel welcomed and love working in such a Home-y (no pun intended!) environment. I can enjoy and take pride in whatever I do, knowing that I’m contributing to such an amazing organization. I cannot thank Ryan and Mackenzie enough for allowing me this wonderful opportunity as it turned out to be both a learning and fulfilling experience.

I never thought sitting at a desk could feel rewarding, but walking into the House every day and seeing the families that I’m working for reminds me that each task I do—no matter how big or small—is, in some way, having a huge impact on these families’ lives.

The city of Columbus offers a number of different possibilities for professional experiences to thousands of college students each year. When it came time for me to choose, I knew without a doubt Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio (RMHC) was the place for me. While I have no specific ties to the House, I volunteered my time here throughout this past spring and grew to think very highly of the staff. Specifically, their dedication to the mission of making a home-away-from-home for families in need was particularly inspiring.

My name is Jillian Kalis and I am a senior at The Ohio State University pursuing a Bachelor of Science Degree in Community Leadership with a minor in Youth Development. Interning at RMHC has given me the opportunity to find out what it means to “love your job”. Every day I am privileged to walk through these doors and begin my morning as an intern for all the volunteers that help make RMHC function. From leading project groups that clean the House to cooking and baking for families, I do not believe I could have found a better experience anywhere else in Columbus.

My family has always stressed the importance of service. From volunteering our time to serve holiday meals to spending the day cleaning outside, volunteering has always been something we think highly of. I am now happy to say that I will be able to pursue a career in something that I consider a family value.

At RMHC, I am truly shown what it means to have a career in Leadership and Volunteer Management. With the help from Kate Ziegler, Meika Willis, Jackie Savel and all of the other RMHC staff, I know that upon the completion of my internship I will be prepared to be a successful worker in the Leadership and Volunteer fields.