There comes a time in everyone's life when you will have the opportunity to reach out and make a difference in someone else's life, and unless you are a cold-hearted slug you'll make the effort to step up and do your part to make our community a better place to live. Visiting the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) in Tampa was one of those wake-up opportunities for me, and I found the experience to be very powerful and heart-warming. One of the ladies from my church coordinated for a group of us to visit the RMH on Davis Island, right behind Tampa General Hospital, and prepare a meal for the families. I very gladly accepted the opportunity to help. When we first got there, one of the volunteers gave us an overview of the mission of RMH. We learned that The Ronald McDonald House provides a home-away-from-home for families of pediatric patients in area hospitals. Donations to the RMH help families stay close to their sick kids. It costs $80 per night to house one family and donations pay for these stays. RMH asks families to donate towards their stay, but most cannot afford it with time away from their jobs and extra medical bills. That's where donations and community volunteers can help. Many families travel far from home to get treatment for their seriously ill or injured children. The treatment may last a day, a month, or even longer. It's a long time to be away from home, or to divide a family. In 2013 the Tampa Bay area RMH's cared for 1,683 families who came from Florida, 35 states and 11 countries to stay an average of 8 days while their child received treatment in one of the Bay area hospitals. There are four Ronald McDonald Houses in our region, the one on Davis Island behind Tampa General Hospital, and three in St. Petersburg near All Children's Hospital. During our tour we saw that the rooms at RMH are set up for families, and they have a private multi-use bedroom and bathroom, and then share common areas for eating and recreation. There are specialty rooms for teens, young kids, and even a nursery area. There's a communal living area for the parents and a big outdoor play area for the kids. They have computer rooms as well as fully-equipped laundry rooms. Our tour was led by a volunteer who told us that she donates half-a-day of her time a few days each month to answer phones, greet visitors, lead tours, etc. Volunteers are the backbone of the organization, and RMH depends upon people to assist in a variety of roles. Housewarmer volunteers assist the families and make them feel welcome, help keep the kitchen and dining areas clean and keep a watchful eye on activities around the house. Other duties include light housekeeping, such as straightening the common rooms and tidying the kitchen, assist groups preparing and serving meals and provide a listening ear for the parents who have a need for someone to share the burden of their child's hospitalization. They also have need for Meal Program volunteers, and that's where our church group stepped up. Families need and look forward to a well-balanced meal after a long day at the hospital. The folks at RMH need the community's help by either cooking a meal at RMH or bringing in prepared food from a restaurant or packaged food from a grocery store. Fresh fruits and vegetables will be accepted. Homemade casseroles must be prepared at the Ronald McDonald House. In most cases you only need a group of 6 - 10 people in the kitchen to prepare a meal for 20 - 30 hungry folks. (I'm wondering if our local Yelp community might have an interest in doing something like this next year?) Obviously RMH is also looking for big corporate sponsors to help underwrite some of the heavy-lifting costs of running this facility, so if you have expertise in fund raising I'm sure they would appreciate your help. One other way to help is to organize special fund-raising events for the RMH. Individuals or groups are needed to assist in planning and working special events. If an organization enjoys working together on events or if we would like to organize an event to benefit the RMH families, then they'd like to hear from you. (This might work for companies based in the area, or for groups like Yelpers?) I will tell you that preparing and serving the meal was a lot of fun, but the memory that will stick with me was sitting on the floor next to the Christmas tree and playing games and laughing with some of the kids. Very powerful moment for me, and I'd like to find a way to continue to help the people at the Ronald McDonald House. This was a very amazing experience, and something that I recommend for anyone who would like to give back some of your time, effort, and money to help improve our community. I think that there's an opportunity for our local Yelpers and Yelpettes to get involved. Please contact me if you're interested. read more

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Ronald McDonald house is one of third organizations that you hope you never have to use, but if you do, you're in great hands. The purpose of the house is to provide families, whose children are in the hospital, a place where they can stay-all free of charge. The house runs on donations from the community. One way you can help is to cook a meal for the families who are staying there. The company I work for is big on giving back to the community, which is one of the reasons why I love working for novo nordisk. Tonight was our night to serve this wonderful organization. Becky, one of the volunteers, took us on a tour of the home. Each family gets their own room and bathroom, allowing them to be minutes away from their sick child. Being at the house and seeing their ongoing needs was wonderful and opened my eyes to another unmet need in our community. This is definitely an organization worthy of our support. read more

I was here with the group to make dinner for the families here. We decided to cook a Mexican themed dinner for them. The facilities was more than accommodating for preparing cooking food with a decent size kitchen. This kitchen featured two sets of stoves, sinks, dishwashers, refrigerators and a lot of counter space including a giant kitchen island. We were even offered a tour of the facilities afterwords buy one of their very nice volunteers. She provided us with a history and summary of what they do here. We had a fun time making the dinner and I hope that we made enough for everyone. read more

Amazing place by an amazing organization. I've never stayed here, but I've volunteered to make dinner for the patients and their families. As volunteers we are always treated so well. The people are incredibly nice. The kitchen facilities are incredible with every supply you could possibly need. read more

I spent my Sunday with a group of women whom I am lucky enough to call my friends. These women are the real deal. Kind, smart, funny, beautiful, and most of all, selfless. When I started talking about getting a group together to volunteer our time at the Ronald McDonald House here in Tampa, they all said "yes!" without a second thought. From the website: What began as one family's misfortune became good fortune for millions of families worldwide. In 1974, Kim Hill, the 3-year old daughter of Philadelphia Eagles tight end Fred Hill, was diagnosed with leukemia. During Kim's three years of treatment, Fred and his wife Fran often camped out on hospital chairs and benches and ate makeshift meals out of vending machines. The Hills watched other parents around them doing the same thing. They learned that many of the families traveled great distances to bring their children to the hospital, but couldn't afford hotel rooms. The Hills began to think that there had to be a solution. Fred rallied the support of his Eagles teammates to raise funds and help other families experiencing the same emotional and financial traumas as his own. Through Jim Murray, the Eagles' general manager, the team offered its support to Dr. Audrey Evans, head of the pediatric oncology unit at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Evans dreamed of a home-like temporary residence for families of children being treated at her hospital. Together, they created the first Ronald McDonald House. That first Ronald McDonald House opened in Philadelphia in 1974. By 1979, ten more Houses had opened. By 1984, McDonald's restaurants and local communities founded 60 more Houses; then 53 more opened by 1989. Today, there are 286 Ronald McDonald Houses in 35 countries around the world. Ronald McDonald House provides a "home-away-from-home" for families with children receiving medical treatment in area hospitals. Between the houses in both Tampa and St. Pete, 80 bedrooms with private baths are offered to families whose children are recieving treatment away from home for days, months or even longer, for little to no cost. The Ronald McDonald House offers families a way to continue to be together, even when far from home. The Houses are all located near local hospitals; most within walking distance. Each house offers home cooked meals, private bedrooms, computer rooms, play areas, laundry rooms, and indoor/outdoor areas for watching television, relaxing or reading. The Ronald McDonald House runs solely on donations and volunteers. Although families are asked to donate toward their stay, they are never turned away for the inability to do so. There are so many ways to volunteer at RMH. They're always looking for house volunteers, including people willing to help prepare home cooked meals at their onsite kitchen. I actually used to volunteer here during high school and college, cooking meals for the families with my friends. Remembering how rewarding and fun these experiences were made me want to go back and give to this amazing organization! Basically volunteers provide all the ingredients to create a home-cooked meal for the 20-25 guests that are staying at RMH. The kitchen is fully stocked with utensils, pans, dishes and other essentials for meal prep. The kitchen is also equipped with two commercial sized refrigerators and freezers, two ovens, stovetops and sinks. As you're cooking, families who are staying at the House might stop by to smell what's going on. :) This is the best time as you get a chance to interact with them and see the appreciation they have for the hard work and time you've put in to prepping a home cooked meal for them. It's an extremely rewarding experience. Would you like to dedicate your time in the Ronald McDonald House kitchen? Here's how it works: 1. Visit the www.takethemameal.com and log in using Tampa (Last name search) and Meal (password). 2. Once you're logged in, scroll down and you will see a calendar list of all of the organizations/people who have offered. If a date is available, you will see "take" at the far right. Choose a date, click take, and it will send you to a form where you can sign up to cook a meal at Ronald McDonald House! 3. You will get a confirmation email and a reminder email prior to your scheduled volunteer date. read more