Stories of Change

September 16, 2015

By Mackenzie Schuler

I love the fall. I think one of the biggest reasons I love it is because I love watching the The Ohio State University Buckeyes (I’m sorry to my family in Iowa—I still love Iowa and my roots, just not when Ohio State plays them!) College football has a lot of amazing stories that take place both on and off the field. The stories I love are the ones where these football teams take these incredibly bright and resilient children who are battling childhood illnesses and adopt them as an honorary member of their team. AJ McCarron of Alabama befriended Starla Chapman. Nebraska Cornhuskers had Jack Hoffman score an amazing touchdown. The Ohio State University Buckeyes consider Jacob Jarvis a member of the team. These are just a few examples, but these stories pull at your heart strings and unite the community to support these amazing kids!

These inspirational sports stories remind me of some of the incredible stories I have had the honor and privilege to meet here at the Columbus Ronald McDonald House. Every family I have met and every family that stays at the Columbus Ronald McDonald House has an incredible story to share. That’s why we are looking for past or current families who have stayed at the Columbus Ronald McDonald House to share your story.

Beginning October 13^th, we will begin a campaign on CD102.5 in partnership with McDonald’s and Ohio Center for Broadcasting called Stories of Change, where Columbus Ronald McDonald House stories are shared—family stories, volunteer stories, donor stories, etc. We would love to have you have a conversation between your family about your experience the Ronald McDonald House (we have questions to help you get the conversation going, no worries!) by recording an audio file. You can record the audio file on your phone—click here for directions. If you are coming to the Columbus Ronald McDonald House before October 1^st and would like to record your story, please contact Mackenzie Schuler. By recording your story, you are helping share the importance of the Columbus Ronald McDonald House—your story helps create hope and inspire others to share their stories of change because of the Columbus Ronald McDonald House.

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Small Acts of Kindness Make a Big Difference #forRMHC

October 29, 2014

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?

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