Thursday, April 22, 2010

Journal 7 - Bethany Cordery


Journal Seven
A charity that I believe in greatly is the Ronald McDonald House charity. I have personally seen what it is like for a family to have their child's life in danger and need a place to stay so that they do not have to leave the area of the hospital and they can be with their sick child as much as possible. Ronald McDonald House is an organization that gives families a place to stay on hospital property, essentially without charge.
$20,000 would help to either build another Ronald McDonald House or update some of the ones they already have. The one at Children's Hospital in Columbus was a great help to friends of mine from church when their 7 year old daughter caught an infection after having chicken pox and was in the hospital for over a month. They lived about an hour to an hour and a half away from the hospital and they did not want to be that far away from their daughter because she was having problems breathing. Anything could happen if they left to go home. The Ronald McDonald House gave them a place to sleep at night and place to take a shower.
If I could donate my time to this charity I would work on making sure that all of the facilities were working and help to build another building. Time permitting I would also go raise money to get more of these charities built. Many people do not realize what a blessing these places are and they do not understand how far their money actually goes to help families just like them.
According to their official website, these houses provide home cooked meals, sibling support, playrooms and much more. Ronald McDonald House has been open since 1974. There are 52 countries that currently have Ronald McDonald House charities operating around children's hospitals. Recently, they have expanded into Ronald McDonald House Mobile, which travels and provides children with dental care and other very important health concerns relating to children.
I agree with this charity that splitting families up in a time of crisis such as a child being in the hospital, is not fair to anyone in the family. Staying together will keep spirits higher and encourage the families that things will improve for them.

http://rmhc.org

2 comments:

  1. I agree that it would be tough to leave a family member alone during such a hard and critical time. The Ronald McDonald House is a great charity and truly would help the tough times be less stressful and more comforting.

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  2. This is a great thing I can remember when my grandpa had a stroke and was having issues with his heart. They had to do surgery, but in the end it turns out that the surgery was what killed him because of an underlying medical problem that threw his heart out of beat that no one knew he had. My parents and grandma stayed down at the hospital for days while he was there, I was young and so were my brother and sister so we had no idea what was going on, but to this day having a way to stay with the people you love during the time they need you most is of great help.

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