MEETING NOTES

Past President Amy Hill introduced Lauren Smyth as our Program Speaker .Lauren is the Director of Development for our local Ronald McDonald House Charities.  She began her presentation with a video production of testimonials by families that have been served by the current Ronald McDonald rooms located within Memorial Hospital.  The rooms are open to all families who have children admitted to Memorial and provide overnight accommodations for up to three families plus food, laundry and shower services free of charge.  Once the child is registered the family has address to these services for as long as they are needed.  4,900 families were served in 2015 by the McDonald Rooms which are staffed by volunteers. 

 

With Memorial Children’s Hospital opening up in March 2017 the current Room will expand to a true Ronald McDonald Housed located in the Skyway Building.  The new House will have 20 bedrooms with private bathrooms, a kitchen with three work stations in addition to the laundry, children’s play area and private meeting facilities.  This set up will allow entire families to be accommodated while their child is being treated.  The new facility will be dedicated on Volunteer’s Day 2017 and a public open house the following Saturday to show the impact it will have on our community and beyond. Donations are still needed to make up the $500,000 to complete the project.  Details can be found on www.loveshinethrough.org.