The Ronald McDonald Organization: A Personal Account

In January 2007 I had a second home at the Ronald McDonald House on Park Ave in St. Louis Missouri. I was not aware of this organization for the first month that my daughter was in the NICU at St. Johns Mercy so I had to travel 3 hours a day, every day, to visit my daughter. I was very relieved to find out about the Ronald McDonald house during the second month. It was only 15 minutes away from my daughter. My goal is to get some information to the families in need of help and to help support families while they are going through this stressful time. I'm going to put some links on this blog to make it convenient for families to get information on important and helpful topics.

The Ronald McDonald Organization has more than 240 Houses in 26 countries and more than 80 Family Rooms in 10 Countries. I have found this information on the following website.....http://www.fb.org/events/fcw/pdfs/StoryOfRMH.pdf. It lists every place that has a Ronald McDonald house on pages 4 - 6. Plus it gives some other information about the organization.

While my daughter was in the NICU at St. Johns I got a bracelet that would allow me and my family to enter the Ronald McDonald Family Room on the Children's Floor. I really appreciated having a place to go and sit and relax for a minute while I was visiting my daughter. They provided snacks and sodas for the families with children in the hospital. They also had a TV, games to play, computer, laundry facilities, bathroom, shower, and a refrigerator. They had volunteers that would work in the room to help others. They were always very kind and welcoming.

I stayed at the Ronald McDonald House for a little over a month. I felt so welcomed by everyone that volunteered there and by the other families. It was like having a big support group when you needed them. Most of the people that stayed at the house with us had premature babies also so it was nice to share stories with them. The organization also had a shuttle bus for the families that were going to Cardinal Glennon. I thought that was very nice because some people staying there didn't have transportation.

People volunteer to work at the house, some even live there so many nights out of the week. They also have volunteers come in and cook dinner for the whole house Monday thru Sunday. On the weekends they would have breakfast also. It was very nice to talk to the people that donated their time to help us. I was very thankful for their generosity. There were several different organizations that would come and cook such as churches, police stations, schools, families, girl/boy scout troops, hospitals, colleges, and companies around St. Louis. My favorite group was the Long Elementary kids. They were so excited and they wanted to serve us (that was hard because they were already doing so much) so we let them. They had so much fun that they came back the same week. They were the best bunch of students that I have ever met. Having so many people going out of their way to be kind to perfect strangers really made my stress level a lot lower. When you are going through so much heart ache for your child it really helps to have an organization like this. When my daughter gets old enough I plan on being one of the many groups to make dinner for the families staying at the Ronald McDonald House.

In the house each family has their own private room with a shower and dressers. It's like a motel room. You have family rooms with TV's and games for the house to share. The kitchen had lots of tables for the families to sit and eat dinner. People would donate food items for the families to eat through out the day. They would be in the cabinets for anyone to have. I remember the best food item brought in was some delicious chocolate covered strawberries. That really brightened my day. Downstairs there were several washers and dryers for the family to use. People would donate laundry detergent and fabric sheets.

Having all this stuff donated to the people staying at the house really makes life a little less stressful for them. I will always be thankful for my stay at the Ronald McDonald house. Thank you to all of the people that donate time and money to such a great organization.