Hey y’all! With it being Giving Tuesday, I felt it was only
appropriate to talk to you about the two organizations that are near and dear
to my heart - The Ronald McDonald House and St. Jude's Children's Research
Hospital.
First, The Ronald McDonald House. I was always
involved with RMH growing up and once joining Alpha Delta Pi in college (for
those who don’t know RMH is ADPi’s national philanthropy) I became even more
involved.
The Ronald McDonald House is a home away from
home for families with children in the hospital. Its community motto is - the
house that love built. Their vision says “We believe that when you change a
child’s life, you change a family’s, which can change a community, and
ultimately the world.”
The RMH has helped more than 10 million families
over the years. The houses around the world provide more than 3,000 rooms a
night for families. It is more than just a room, it is the ability to be close
to your child when they’re in the hospital instead of having to go home, the
ability to know that if need be you can be with them in minutes. Most houses
are walking distance to the hospital. To stay at the house all they ask from
you is for $10 a night if you are able to afford
it. If you are unable ($10 doesn’t seem like a lot
but some families are there for days and it can quickly add up) they
simply ask you to pick a chore from the list to do around the house. These
chores are simple things like vacuuming or cleaning the kitchen, and you never
see anyone complaining about having to do this. Some families pay the $10 and pick a few chores. This is where the
fundraising we do comes in, it helps pay for those stays. They also have the
Ronald McDonald Family Room that is inside the hospital in case you don’t have
time to leave or any other reasons you might have. These rooms have TVs, washer
and dryers, kitchens, showers, beds. Anything you might need while in the
hospital for a long time, which it usually is since the average stay at the RMH
is 9 days.
The second is St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
Chances are you’ve already heard a lot about this wonderful organization, but
I’m still going to talk about it!
Danny Thomas founded St. Jude on February 4,
1962. His dream was that no child should die in the dawn of life. At the time
they had 125 employees and an annual budget of 1 million dollars. Today they
have more than 3,600 employees and a daily operating cost of $2 million
dollars (which is primarily covered by public
contributions). In 1962, the survival rate for acute
lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of childhood cancer, was 4
percent. Today, about 98% go into remission within weeks of starting treatment
and about 90% can be cured. This is thanks to research and treatment protocols
developed at St. Jude. They also cover all your fees. When a child comes to St.
Jude all they have to pay is their travel fees to get there the FIRST time, after that
everything is taken care of. Your bills, food, and gas- I really do mean
everything. Most people don’t realize this and that’s why fundraising and
donations are such a large part of St. Jude. They were the first institution
founded with the sole purpose of research and treatment for childhood
diseases.
They also don’t keep what they find under lock
and key, information discovered at St. Jude is shared with doctors
worldwide.
Maybe you’ve heard all this before, maybe it was
all new to you. Regardless, I hope it was eye-opening and I hope you’ll
consider giving this year. Maybe not to one of these, but somewhere. And
remember – money isn’t the only thing you can give. Most all organizations
would be happy to have you volunteer!
I’ve provided the links for each organization to
donate if you’re interested.
Thank you for reading!
xo Courtney
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