Summer 2015

www.rmhcincinnati.org | (513) 636-7642

THANK YOU for making a difference for the Jackson familyOn December 16, 2014, my husband, Eric, and I went from elated to terrified in a matter of 20 minutes. During our 20-week ultrasound, we learned the wonderful news that we were having a baby boy. Shortly after, we learned that our son had Spina Bifida. Our doctor informed us that fetal surgery in Cincinnati could potentially help our son, but we would need to relocate to Cincinnati within the next six weeks. We were overwhelmed with emotions and the difficult decisions that needed to be made.

We opted for the surgery, and doctors operated on our son while still he was still in my womb. I was required to stay in Cincinnati with 24-hour supervision until he was born. With both my husband and me working full time and a toddler at home, this detail alone presented a big challenge. But then we learned about Cincinnati’s Ronald McDonald House.

The House offered everything we needed to finish out my pregnancy safely. It allowed Eric to travel back and forth from home with our daughter while other family members and friends stayed with me. Everyone was immeasurably impressed with the House and all it provided.

We also met two other families who had undergone the same surgery. We never would have experienced this camaraderie at a hotel. The volunteers became our biggest supporters; they knew our names and always asked about our son. Just having a place to live with meals, internet access to keep in touch with loved ones and my employer, and access to laundry facilities was incredibly helpful.

On February 16, 2015, our son, Ari, was born. Our hearts filled with love when we saw our beautiful boy. He was immediately placed in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, where he remained for 77 days. It was so important for us to be right across the street from him. And our daughter absolutely loved the House. She made friends with all the other children, and she loved the activities, game room and ice cream socials.

Ari continued to improve every day. He is now home and doing amazingly well. Words cannot express our gratitude and the sheer awe that we feel about the care we received at the House. It amazes us that the generosity and compassion of others alone fuels such an amazing place that truly changed our lives. We will be forever grateful.

With love, Amy, Eric, Brynn and Ari

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3Five Reasons to VOLUNTEER

You’ll enjoy improved health and well-being.According to U.S. News & World Report, “Volunteering improves the health, happiness, and in some cases, the longevity of volunteers.” The article also points to another important benefit — volunteering provides an opportunity for people to feel they’ve made a difference, bringing meaning and value to their lives. By volunteering, you may even get more than you give.

Your talents can help make a difference.We have many different ways you can help our critically ill children and their families:

House Refresher — Making sure our bedrooms, kitchen and common areas are germ-free is a big task, but it comforts parents and gives children a fighting chance.

Front Desk Concierge — Be the first person to welcome our guest families, visitors, volunteers and donors to our House. And then help care for our families throughout their stays.

Host of the House — Help provide our guest families with hot meals by keeping our kitchen clean and organized, assisting our volunteer meal groups, and giving our meal volunteers a tour of our House.

Maintenance Volunteer — If you enjoy being handy, your skills could help keep our House safe and comfortable so our guest families can focus on their children.

Taste of Hope Volunteer — Come together with your friends, family, coworkers, church or civic group to give families a Taste of Hope by sponsoring and serving a meal.

You’re needed.Our Guest Services Volunteers dedicated 35,000 hours to our guest families in 2014. Our meal, snack and activity volunteers donated approximately 50,000 hours. In total, our volunteers account for 62 percent of our workforce, and they save our House from spending an additional $2 million to provide the same level of service. Our House simply could not care for our families like we do without volunteer support.

2Five Reasons to VOLUNTEER

You can help save lives.Because of our House, families can financially and emotionally afford to travel far away from home to make sure their children receive the best treatment possible. We would love for you to become a part of the team that helps critically ill children receive life-saving care.

You’ll be a part of something rewarding.Through anonymous satisfaction surveys, our volunteers reported:

• 98 percent feel they make a positive contribution

• 98 percent agree that families appreciate their service

• 95 percent are satisfied with their experience

For more information on volunteering, please visit our website at rmhcincinnati.org or contact us at volunteer@rmhouse.org or 513.636.5586.

Help critically ill children build BRIGHT FUTURESTwo of our former guests graduated this past spring. Thank you for standing by them during their families’ darkest hours so that they could go on to build bright futures.

You can help us give hope to many other guest families who will need our House in the future. Please consider including Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Cincinnati as a beneficiary of your will, trust, life insurance policy or

retirement plan so that future generations can share in the hopes and dreams that are now a reality for Elizabeth and Jeremy.

For more information, visit our website at rmhcincinnati.org, or contact Tracy Monroe, our director of planned giving, at 513.636.9703 or tmonroe@rmhouse.org.

Put on your best dress or your bowtie.Come have a drink with us.And let’s celebrate our “HOME AWAY FROM HOME.” Mix and mingle with over 600 of Cincinnati’s finest at our biggest fundraiser of the year, our Red Tie Gala. We hope to see you Saturday, October 3, 2015 at the Hyatt Regency downtown having a drink and hors d’oeuvres, bidding on silent and live auction items, and enjoying dinner and dancing. Join us as we posthumously honor our 2015 HEART Award recipient Al Reilly, greenhouse industry leader and former executive at Rough Brothers, Inc.

To attend or sponsor this event, please contact Carrie Schroder, our events manager, at cschroder@rmhouse.org or (513) 636-5551.

Elizabeth

Elizabeth and her family lived at our House for 91 days while she received a heart transplant. This year, she graduated from Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

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Jeremy

Jeremy and his family lived at our House for 329 days while he received a bone marrow transplant. This year, he graduated from Springdale High School in Arkansas.

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Taste of HOPEDirections

1. STIR together a great group you’d like to have fun with as you learn new recipes and cooking skills. Let us take care of the details as we provide the food, recipes, cookware, and instruction from a professional chef.

2. COMBINE your funds together and reserve your meal date at rmhcincinnati.org/tasteofhope.

For approximately $3.25 per guest, you can provide a ServSafe-certified meal to make sure critically ill children and their families receive the balanced nutrition they need to stay strong. And, your gift is tax-deductible.

Servings Serving Time/Meal Cost

75 8:00 a.m. — light breakfast and prepare bag lunches Noon — weekday lunch

$250

125 10:00 a.m. — weekend brunch 6:00 p.m. — all dinners $400

3. WHISK your group off to our House to prepare and serve a delicious, balanced meal to help sick children grow strong and energize overwhelmed parents. Bond with your fellow cooks and then sit down to enjoy your creation with the children and families you’re helping.

4. MELT your heart knowing you brought a Taste of Hope to critically ill children and their families as they fight the toughest battle of their lives.

Please visit rmhcincinnati.org/tasteofhope for more information, or contact Lisa Davis, our volunteer and operations coordinator, or Robyn Cramer, our meals and activities assistant, at 513.636.2760 or foodandfun@rmhouse.org.

Recognition for Our HeroesWe honor our Heroes by recognizing each gift in special and personalized ways. In addition, every Hero will receive recognition:• On a banner prominently displayed outside our House • On our website and social media outlets • In our annual report, in print and online • At our annual Donor Appreciation Luncheon• In our House print newsletter, our House electronic

newsletter, and our volunteer electronic newsletter

Benefits for Our Corporate HeroesRecent research shows that your support of not-for-profit organizations can influence customers, employees, and business partners to view your company as a hero:• 92 percent of Americans have a more positive image of

companies that support a cause • 87 percent of Americans are likely to switch brands (when

price and quality are equal) to support a cause they feel strongly about

• 88 percent of workers whose company has a cause-related program feel proud of their company’s values

Please visit rmhcincinnati.org/heroesofthehouse for more information or contact Tanya Cornejo, our development director, at 513.636.9679 or tcornejo@rmhouse.org.

THANK YOU to our 2014–2015

Heroes of the House

FUN & CREATIVITY HERO

HAPPINESS HERO

STRESS RELIEF HERO

HOME AWAY FROM HOMESUPERHERO

Bob & Lynn Stengerand

HEALING SUPERHERO

WELCOME HOMESUPERHERO

Is there a Hero in YOU?Join our new Heroes of the House program by making an annual gift of $25,000 or more and know that you are truly changing children’s lives.

Thank You from our EXECUTIVE DIRECTORA Love Letter to Our Volunteers

Never a day goes by that I am not amazed by you, our incredible volunteers, and all that you do. Last year, you devoted over 85,000 hours to care for our families. While this number alone is staggering, it doesn’t begin to tell the true story of the difference you make. It is your love and comfort which make our House a warm,

welcoming, safe haven where worried and weary parents can rest and find hope. Your dedication allows their critically ill children to find joy and to heal.

For each of you, no task is too big or too small not to be done with the utmost care. Your kind voices on the other end of the phone are a lifeline to parents weathering stormy seas. You tackle mountains of laundry so that parents can rest well in comfortable beds after long days at the hospital. Cleaning a room means an immune-suppressed child won’t catch a “common cold,” which for them is anything but common and could be life-threatening. Preparing a meal means over-taxed parents will not neglect themselves and their own health as they cope with their children’s care. These gestures are profound acts of generosity, and I am grateful and humbled every day to witness them and to see their impact.

Together we do small things with great love every single day. Without you, none of it would be possible. Thank you for sharing your gifts and talents with our critically ill children and their families.

Gratefully,

Jennifer Goodin Executive Director

Going to a Reds game

Leading activities that bring joy to critically ill children

Providing a meal to weary parents

Fundraising through a wine festival

If this sounds like a great way to have fun, network, make friends, and give back to your community, then consider becoming a member of our young professionals group, the Red Shoe Crew. Join over 100 individuals who help care for our critically ill children and their families by volunteering, fundraising and being ambassadors for our mission. For more information, please visit our website at rmhcincinnati.org or email redshoecrew@rmhouse.org.

350 Erkenbrecher AvenueCincinnati, OH 45229

www.rmhcincinnati.org

NONPROFITU.S.POSTAGE

PAIDCincinnati, OHPermit No. 9772

If you receive an extra newsletter or if your name and address are incorrect, please let us know by contacting Shawnie Dukes at (513) 636-2046 or sdukes@rmhouse.org. Thank you.

Meet Ari. You helped save his life.

Cincinnati’s Ronald McDonald House provides a “home away from home” for families with critically ill children while they receive medical treatment. We surround families with hope and support and bring joy and a sense of normalcy to children as they heal.