Amy with her husband and son, Joshua

By Amy Gooden

In January 2007 my son Joshua was born five weeks premature and suffered severe digestive complications. A few days after he was born he was transferred from Genesis Hospital in Zanesville, Ohio to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Columbus Nationwide Children’s Hospital. It was a very bewildering and overwhelming time. My husband’s company closed and he was unemployed. I had been off work and on bed rest.

The first night we were at Nationwide Children’s Hospital the wonderful staff allowed us to stay in a special room directly across from the NICU. The next day we searched the area for a local hotel close to the hospital. Although we did not have the financial resources, we were prepared to charge each night of our stay on a credit card. We did not know how long our stay would be and the cost each night was well over $100 a night. Just before checking in at a local hotel we received a call from our case worker at Nationwide Children’s. She said a room was available at the Ronald McDonald House and we could stay there at no cost. It was such a blessing! What a relief to know we did not have to worry about how we were going to pay for our stay. Plus, the hospital was just across the street. We did not have to worry about transportation to and from the hospital.

There was something about the House that was so very comforting. Each night when we returned from the hospital, a local company or volunteer organization had prepared dinner for all of the guests. It was cold and dark outside. I can’t explain how comforting it was to receive a warm meal and sit quietly among the other residents knowing my son was just across the street.

Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) of Central Ohio provided us with a private room with our own bathroom, a completely stocked and modern kitchen, laundry facility, and a media room. All they asked of us was to clean up after ourselves. Each guest was assigned an area of the House to keep clean. Our area was the library. The library was already a very clean place, but we checked it every day to make sure it was swept and dust free!

It is through those gestures that makes RMHC such a remarkable place. At that time, my husband and I were not able to provide any funds for our stay at the House, but I remember as we were preparing to check out, I thought, someday I will give back to RMHC of Central Ohio for their generosity.

I first had the opportunity to give back to RMHC when I became the advisor for the Rotaract Club at Muskingum University. One of our ongoing projects for is to collect aluminum pop tabs. Since January 2014, the Rotaract Club has engaged the entire campus community to collect pop tabs. On April 28^th our club will take a tour of the House and present our pop tabs. We haven’t been able to weigh our tabs yet but I can tell you that I have a giant tub of pop tabs that we will have to roll out of my office!

In July, I will be a contestant in the Dancing with the Divas contest. It is a dance competition and fundraiser similar to the television show Dancing with the Stars. The contest is in its sixth year and is hosted by the Dancing Divas, which is a group of women who promote the love of dance for all ages. Each contestant picks a charity to raise funds; thus, this becomes my second opportunity to give back as my charity will be Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio! My Diva partner and I will be performing a tap routine to Singing in the Rain. I haven’t tap danced since I was 11 years old, so we have started practicing! I have no doubt that we will have a fabulous routine for the show! I am very excited and so happy to be able to finally give back to RMHC.

Today my son is a happy, healthy and enthusiastic 9 year old! Thank you to the wonderful staff at RMHC for helping us through such a stressful time in our lives. The Ronald McDonald House is truly an amazing place, a place of comfort and hope.

By St. Patrick 8th Grade Students

St. Patrick School students with their collected pop tabs

Have you ever thought pop tabs could bring a family together? At St. Patrick School, students in grades K-8 have been working together to collect pop tabs for the Columbus Ronald McDonald House. Generous people all over the community have been participating in this event to help families of seriously ill children. At St. Patrick School, family comes first. By helping Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio, we are fulfilling that motto.

St. Patrick students and staff put a unique twist on the collection by adding an incentive. The class with the highest pop tab weight per capita would be rewarded with a pizza party and a field trip to the Ronald McDonald House. This project, however, is for the benefit of others. Two eighth grade students had this to say about the impact of the project on their lives:  “This has really opened my eyes to the struggles people face in our own community,” said Grant Carpenter. “The more I give, the better I feel,” stated Abby Swierz. “These feelings will grow to become an automatic response to help others, which is what our school is all about. This is a simple project anyone can do, and we encourage others to do the same.”

Thank you to St. Patrick School for their dedication for collecting pop tabs for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio!

By Angela Alder, Strategic Partnerships Associate

Angela at A Toast to Tinseltown

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” -Gandhi

While pursuing my Bachelor’s degree and working full-time, I spent, what little free time I had, planning events for a local wedding planner. I spent countless hours doing the less than glamorous, behind-the-scenes work involved in executing any big event. I worked tirelessly on timelines, contracts, budgets and calming anxious brides all for the rewarding moment of seeing it all come together on a couple’s big day! It wasn’t long before I realized I had found a new passion in event planning!

After graduation in the spring of 2012, I walked away with a diploma, some larger than life student-loan debt, quite a bit of free time, and a yearning for something more. I wanted to give back. I was so enthusiastic about events, but wanted any (all) of my volunteer efforts to be put towards meaningful work. If I was going to be giving of myself, I wanted it to be in the service of others. A friend of mine was on staff at the Ronald McDonald House and invited me in for a tour. As we walked through the halls, she spoke of the young professionals group dedicated to supporting the volunteer and fundraising needs of the House. These young men and women (of the Red Shoe Society) took part in hands-on opportunities such as cooking meals for the families, donating items, peer-to-peer fundraising, awareness of the mission and planning & organizing, you guessed it, special events! I joined immediately and began attending the monthly meetups. I was soon introduced to Jamie, the Special Events Director and other Red Shoe Members who invited me to be on the planning committee of one of Red Shoe Society’s biggest events, A Toast to Tinseltown.

For the next four years, I volunteered on the Red Shoe Society. Through networking and volunteering, I built relationships with those that shared the mission of the House and followed suit by building friendships with many of the members on staff as well. I continued to work full-time in a corporate office where I facilitated multiple in-kind giving opportunities, collected pop tabs for the Pop Tab Program and invited coworkers to come see first-hand, the House that Love Built. I wanted to share the mission of Ronald McDonald House Charities with anyone that was willing to listen.

A few months ago, I got a call from Jamie with the opportunity of a lifetime. She asked me to be a part of the RMHC team as a full-time staff member. I couldn’t hold back the tears! As the Strategic Partnerships Associate, I now lead the young professionals of the Red Shoe Society and host multiple special events for the organization throughout the year! Here at the House, I am surrounded by staff members that I have, for so many years, grown to know and love. Here, I am able to work alongside volunteers who give selflessly of their time and hearts to make the lives of others a little bit easier. It is here, at the Ronald McDonald House that I was finally able to find myself, only after losing myself in the service of others.

By Alli Snyder

Alli posing with all of her pop tabs!

Five years ago I started collecting pop tabs from my local school district. In the past five years, I’ve been able to donate over 1.5 million pop tabs to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio. Ever since I started collecting pop tabs, I knew I could not stop. I fell in love with the fact I could help families in such difficult situations. People ask me when am I going to stop and I normally tell them stop, I have barely started!

RMHC of Central Ohio has helped me get through a lot of things with their outlook on kindness and generosity to others. When I started collecting pop tabs, my family found out that my vision was worse than we thought and I would probably never be able to get a driver’s license; soon after that, I was put on an IEP. During that experience, I learned life is not fair and we have to help others, because if we do not give back to others, why should they give to us?

A few years ago, I was diagnosed with chronic daily migraines; I stayed home from school for over a month I was in so much pain! At that point, I had a mini epiphany:  you cannot just sit around for a magical cure–you have to work for it. I thought of people who have more difficult life circumstances, and I thought about how amazing they are, and how I have to collect pop tabs as a way to show my appreciation to their families, because it’s one thing to be brave because you are going through, but it’s another for when someone close to you is going through it.

To be honest, I feel a responsibility to RMHC. They have been there for all the times I have needed them. I feel as if I should help give back to them in any way I can, and my favorite way to give back is through the Pop Tab Program. I feel like the pop tabs represent me in a way, it is small but still very powerful, like me. My favorite thing about the pop tabs is getting to take them to the Ronald McDonald House because we always take it on the week of my birthday. I feel like I am making the week like Christmas in June, which I have to say feels pretty awesome! This year I will be spending my 14^th birthday not only getting, but also giving and I do not think many 14 year olds can say that.

Whenever the new school year comes, I know I will be asked if and when the pop tab collecting will start, and that just makes me feel unbelievably happy. Collecting pop tabs is something my family and I do and I know that it is a little thing that feels so big to me and no one can take it away.