Pillars of the House Society

By Megan Koester

I am constantly amazed by the love and support that comes from our community to Ronald McDonald House Charities. This week, we received an estate gift that will provide 120 nights of rest for families needing a home-away-from-home while their child is in the hospital. This gift was planned by the family years ago when they thought about leaving a lasting impact in the community – they thought of supporting Ronald McDonald House Charities. Estate planning is a wonderful way to leave a legacy through your will, trust, life insurance policy or other planned gifts.

We have established the Pillars of the House Society to recognize all of the thoughtful donors that designate Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio in their estate plans. These individuals are truly creating the pillars of our future and they leave a gift that will assure that a home-away-from-home continues to be ready for those families in years to come.

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio welcomes many kinds of planned gifts, including:

* Naming Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio as a beneficiary in a life insurance policy or an Individual Retirement Account (IRA).

*Gifts of new or existing life insurance policies

*Gifts of appreciated stock

*Making provisions in a will or living trust to leave all or a percentage of your estate to the Charity.

*Creation of a Charitable Remainder Trust, Lead Trust or Gift Annuity

We are here to help simplify this process with information and resources.  Those that join the Pillars of the House Society are recognized as long term donors and will receive a commemorative gift, invitations to special events and ongoing information from the House.

Becoming a member of the Pillars of the House Society allows you to make a charitable decision today that will truly benefit Ronald McDonald House families in years to come. What a wonderful way to continue your support for the Charity. Our families will truly appreciate the warm bed, delicious meals and amenities we are able to provide our families thanks to this special gift.

Building More Stories of Hope

 

 

 

By Mackenzie Schuler

If you have not had the chance to visit the Columbus Ronald McDonald House recently, you may be in for some serious surprises. We are undergoing a 42 guest room expansion, which will put our guest room capacity at 122 rooms, making the Columbus Ronald McDonald House the largest Ronald McDonald House in the world. Our expansion is named “Building More Stories of Hope”, which is a fitting name for the work we are doing here to support families of seriously ill children. While we are adding rooms to all floors of our House, we are going to be able to hear about all of the great stories our families have to share. With this expansion, we will be able to serve even more families of seriously ill children. Here are some of the great things you will see when you come visit our House!

Commercial Kitchen: We will have a commercial kitchen, which is completely outfitted by Cameron Mitchell Restaurants. This kitchen will allow our meal groups to have adequate space to prepare and serve meals for our families, as well as having the experience of preparing a meal in a restaurant-esque environment. This kitchen will also eliminate meal groups using our current family kitchens, so families can continue to prepare their own meals if they so choose. Our dining room is being completely redone, from tables and chairs to the flooring, and we cannot wait until we can show you what’s been cooking behind the scenes!

A recent photo of our commercial kitchen

Green Space and Playground: Currently, our green space and playground have been out of commission, because of our construction site, but do not fret—they will be making a comeback! We will have a great themed playground for the kids to play, as well as more green space available for our families.

This is a shot of where the playground and green space are located.

Safelite Serenity Rooftop Garden: Our rooftop garden will be a space for families to reflect, relax, and have an oasis in the midst of chaos while their children are being treated at central Ohio hospitals. This space will have beautiful patio furniture and will be a wonderful way for families to unwind and enjoy themselves while staying at the Ronald McDonald House.

Current stage of the Safelite Serenity Rooftop Garden

Long Term Housing: We will be offering long-term housing to families who will be staying at the Columbus Ronald McDonald House for six months or longer. Four homes will be constructed within our property to keep families close to their children. By offering this service, families will have a home-like atmosphere to be able to keep some sense of normalcy while their day to day routines will vary during their child’s hospitalization.

 

Great shot showing just how close we are to Nationwide Children’s Hospital–only 200 footsteps away!

We are extremely grateful and thankful to be able to serve even more families here at the Columbus Ronald McDonald House. There are so many organizations, groups, and individuals who helped make this dream a reality. The Ronald McDonald House is truly the House that love built.

The Gift of Love

We have had several different people write for our blog, and in honor of Valentine’s Day, we wanted to share the gift of love from a former family who stayed at our Ronald McDonald House. Here is their story.

By the Garcia Family

My daughter, Esmeralda (Esmie), was transported via air ambulance from Phoenix Children’s Hospital in Arizona to Nationwide Children’s Hospital on November 2^nd, 2012.

Esmie was diagnosed with Interstitial Lung Disease, a rare autoimmune disease that attacked her lung organ. Esmie’s disease began at 11 years old, and she continued having difficulties breathing, muscle weakness and pain. With the care of the doctors she was receiving and her oxygen support, she was able to make it through until October 6, 2012. Her lungs had gotten worse—they had scarred and stopped functioning.

Doctors in Phoenix did not have much to say, but they told us Esmie was going to need a lung transplant. She was then put on the Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Machine (ECMO), a procedure that uses a machine to take over the work of the lungs. Four days after the Nationwide Children’s Hospital team came to Phoenix, they airflighted Esmie to Columbus. On November 24, 2012, Esmie received her lung transplant, and this was a huge gift to us. On January 8, 2013, Esmie was discharged from Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

I want to say thank you to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio. While I was there, I met a lot of caring staff members and volunteers. The Columbus Ronald McDonald House made me feel at home. In those stressful moments with my daughter, I really had a home to sleep, eat, and shower just to be ready to go to the hospital, which was less than a minute away, and be with my Esmie. Just knowing I had been able to be well-rested to speak with Esmie’s doctors made all of the difference in the world.

From the bottom of our hearts, we truly appreciate everything the Columbus Ronald McDonald House has to offer. It has been a long journey, but we truly treasure all of the time we have been able to spend together because of the Ronald McDonald House!

Grace and Gratitude

By Darla Stover

Darla (front row, 2nd from left) dressed up as a bed bug for the 2013 RMHC Halloween Party

On my road to becoming a quinquagenarian, I felt a strong need to make my life more meaningful. After struggles with a very important person in my life, I knew I needed to help other families, so I went back to my Alpha Delta Pi days and began to volunteer once again for the Ronald McDonald House. Very early on, I knew I wanted to make Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio my work home.

The Ronald McDonald House holds such an incredible energy that you feel as you walk through the front door.  The families staying at the Columbus Ronald McDonald House are the strongest and most resilient people I know. They are thrown into a foreign medical world to which they must quickly adapt. They learn in a matter of days the names and treatments of conditions and illnesses and know what their child needs to thrive. The families move through their journey with such grace and gratitude for the simplest gestures at Ronald McDonald House.

Faith in humanity is restored when meeting our dedicated volunteers, when looking at the schools, businesses and community groups who gather wish list items, host fundraisers, make meals and clean the House. The staff members are a rare breed of people who are so dedicated to the cause and work together as a cohesive group for the betterment of the whole.  They are a talented group who give their time so willingly during and after work hours.

I have never worked harder in my life, and yet I feel so fulfilled. At the Columbus Ronald McDonald House, no problem is too big to solve and no effort is too small to help these families who may be far from their homes and their support systems. As a member of the Ronald McDonald House Charities team, we check our own worries at the door and focus on those with greater needs with laser focus. The lines between corporate executives, public figures, working citizens and the families are completely
erased. Each person involved in with Ronald McDonald House Charities uses their strengths and connections to make the House bigger and better able to help the families who are engrossed in healing their children.

If you haven’t visited the Ronald McDonald House, our staff personally invites you to take a tour. Your life will be forever changed.