2017 Issue 5 Sep/Oct - Focus Mid-South Magazine

community
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Memphis
courtesy Ronald McDonald House Charities of Memphis
Ronald McDonald House
Charities of Memphis®, at no
charge to our guests, provides
supportive services and “keeps
families close” while children
are receiving treatment for
cancer and other catastrophic
childhood illnesses at St. Jude
Children’s Research Hospital.
Since opening its doors in
1991, Ronald McDonald House
of Memphis has provided a
home, at no charge to our
guests, for more than 9,400
children from nearly every
state and 45 countries.
It is our aim at Ronald
McDonald House of Memphis
to give our families more
time with their sick child.
That means more hugs, more
kisses, and more “I love you’s.”
Families are stronger when
they are together, and their
presence helps a sick child heal
faster and cope better.
We enable families to focus
on the health of their children
rather than anything else, such
as paying bills, cooking meals,
or cleaning the house. Families
are allowed to preserve a sense
of normalcy with warm beds,
warm meals, and warm hugs
from other families fighting the
same battle.
One example is Emma,
who is 14 years old and from
Decatur, Ill. In 2015 an X-ray of
Emma showed a mass. After
she was diagnosed as having
Ewing Sarcoma, she and her
mother Jenny headed to
Memphis. Three different times
they have stayed at Ronald
McDonald House Charities® of
Memphis. Jenny said, “Emma’s
treatment is more bearable
because you are not constantly
at the hospital.”
Twenty five years after
opening, RMHC Memphis is
more than just a home. RMHC
Memphis provides supportive
programs that have a local
impact such as the Family Field
Trip Program so that families
experience Memphis; the
Chefs in the House Program
so that they experience the
food our city’s talented chefs
provide; the Wings of Love
Bereavement Program to
support them after the battle is
fought; and the Perseverance
Scholarship Program to
encourage patients to pursue
their dreams.
Volunteers contribute their
time to prepare meals for
families, host movie and pizza
nights, clean and organize
kitchens, and play areas,
restock pantries and staff the
front desk. By cooking meals,
cleaning kitchens and play
Page 16 / focusmidsouth.com / SEP+OCT 2017 / Imagine
areas, volunteers allow families
more time to spend with their
sick children.
To learn more about
volunteer opportunities,
contact our Volunteer and
Program Manager Deenean
Wilson-Henderson at
deenean@rmhc-memphis.org
or by calling 901.312.7478.
In the words of a parent,
“RMHC Memphis is way better
than having to stay in a hotel
room especially when you
have to be here a longer time”.
To another, RMHC Memphis
is “shelter, relationship, and
sharing of burdens.” One
teenager says, “Thank you
for making these incredibly
difficult medical treatments a
little bit easier for patients and
families.” A young girl adds,
“Thank you for all the support
you have given to my family
and everybody else. What you
give is what we really need.”
According to the father of one
patient, RMHC Memphis has
an “impact within the healing
process, not so much within
the medical-healing part of
things but the spiritual part of
things, the soul-helping part.”
While RMHC Memphis
cannot make medicine taste
better or take away painful
treatments, we can help
lessen the burden and ensure
families have the stability and
resources they need to keep
their child healthy and happy.
RMHC Memphis is “Keeping
Families Close” so they can
face the weight of illness
together.
WAYS TO HELP
rmhc-memphis.org/donate
House Hero Program: rmhc-memphis.org/househero
Red Shoe Gala: redshoegalamemphis.com
Drive It Home Raffle: driveithomememphis.com
Clays for Kids | September 21 & 22, 2017
claysforkidsmemphis.com
Ronald McDonald House Radiothon
October 26 & 27, 2017
radiothonmemphis.com