can i pimp my sorta new favorite charity?

[mopinko]

so, i have one of the all times great dogs ever in the person of my victorian bulldogge, biff.
he and i are hospice volunteers. usually we work at a hospital in patient unit. sometimes we get special requests for home visits, or visits to other locations. usually we go once a week, tho we have been on a sick leave since i just had my rotator cuff glued back together.

today was our first chance to visit the local ronald mc donald house. it is attached to the new, renamed, children's hospital in chi. lurie children's hospital.
biff nearly exploded w joy when he realized we were going to work.

i have a very sick kid who is now 23, disabled, and still searching for answers to her never ending cascade of physical ailments. it started at 6, w pain problems. at 9, she started (excuse me) shitting bright red blood.
this is a long story, but i will just say that i spent a fair amount of time pacing the halls of the children's hospital.
i never had to get that most horrible of news- your child is going to die.

i feel like i can talk to the parents who did get that news, and say, i have not worn your shoes, but i have tried them on. the news you have received is always just wrong. no one should have to bury their child.
i am a tough old broad now, w very broad shoulders.
this work floats my boat.

the saddest thing about today was that the place is so full of hope. i talked to a mom whose 16 yo had just had a heart transplant.
i saw many who wore my face of "this is today's fresh hell, but i will persevere." "i know there is a miracle here for my child"
but there was no miracle for this sweet boy, who was from the phillipines.

i was so blessed to have this amazing hospital here in my city. i got to sleep in my own bed.
but people come here from all over to get in line for their miracle.
they leave family members behind. they leave their beds and their kitchens.
and ronald's takes care of those families.
mom's, dad's, siblings, whoever needs to be their for their seriously ill child.

i was so impressed w the place. the virtual welcome mat is a mile wide. it is a beautiful place, fulllll of art. full of play. full of hope.


do you indulge in the occasional greasy burger, or the daily greasy burger, cuz, who doesnt need to just drive through sometimes?
do you feel guilt?
here is your antidote.
drop the change in the box.
i tend to grab a smoothie and some fries on my way to the hospital, it is $6.72. i give them a tenner, and drop the change.
they get the holiday donations that i used to give to the red kettles.

think what you will about the corporation, i dont blame you if you hate on them. but ronald mc donald houses are as pure good as anything that you can do w your charitable giving.
and you will hardly even notice that you did it.
do it.

[elleng]

1. Love thinking of you and biff there,

and WILL do as you suggest!

[mopinko]

2. i've been kinda itchin to get in.

but we dont have patients there often.

[Rhiannon12866]

3. K&R! Kicking this back to the top!

What a moving recommendation - and reminder. And thank you for all you do - and your doggy, too!

[mnhtnbb]

4. I worked at Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles from the mid- 70's to mid 80's

A Ronald McDonald House was opened just blocks from CHLA around 1980--the 6th one to open in the country-- after the first one opened
as a joint project with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in 1974.

They are wonderful places. We get local human interest stories about our Ronald McDonald House in Chapel Hill in our newspaper from time to time.
This was the last one I remember, about Tar Heel football player Nazair Jones who is now giving back as a volunteer to the Ronald McDonald House
where he was once a resident himself while being treated at UNC Hospitals for a rare condition that had left him unable to walk.

http://rmh-chapelhill.org/nazair-jones-gives-back/

[mopinko]

6. that is a really sweet story.

thanks for sharing it.

[Fla Dem]

5. What you're doing is wonderful.

I'm sure the comfort you bring to the families is greatly appreciated.

I am not a fan of McDonalds, but give them a big "Way to go" with their Ronald McDonald houses and will consider them in my charitable giving.

[mopinko]

7. hey, you can always go through the drive thru

and not eat the food. their smoothies are pretty good, tho.

and just 1 thing about the corp that i appreciate. you will never find the bathroom locked in a mickeys. may seem like a small thing but here in chi, it isnt. lots of neighborhoods you have to go up to the counter and get someone to buzz you in at wendy's or bk.
small, but a clean john anywhere you go has lead me in the door all over this country.
and in india! tho it wasnt like the ones here, it wasnt like most of the ones there, either.

[Callmecrazy]

8. My parents stayed there when my nephew was sick...

They assign the guest chores to do while staying there; to keep down costs. Mop the floors, take out trash, etc. They loved the place.
Lots of people to talk to and share their feelings. They couldn't stop talking about it.

[mopinko]

9. i understand they also do communal meals.

the room where i was had a big kitchen and a big counter wrapping around.
and while i was there they got a peapod delivery of 4 big bins of food.

i am sure sharing a meal w others in your boat is a serious support mechanism.

[Callmecrazy]

10. Yes. My folks said the same thing...nt

[mopinko]

11. what the heck. kickin for rmh

and btw, another reason that i have a soft spot for this charity-

my oldest niece, w whom i had a great, special relationship, was on the board of a rmh in a dinky northern wis town.
she has since become a deplorable, sadly, and wont even speak to me.
so it is sorta a memoriam.