Ronald McDonald House

 When the average Johns Creek High School student hears the words, “Ronald McDonald House” they most likely do not know the impact the Ronald McDonald House has on families all across the country daily. For those of you that have not heard of the Ronald McDonald House, it is a place that provides love and compassion to families with children in the hospital that have to move far from home to receive necessary treatment.

 Dr. Audrey Evans, Fred Hill, Jim Murray, and Ed Rensi founded the Ronald McDonald House in 1974 with a simple mission statement:to create, find and support programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children. Since its founding, the Ronald McDonald House has fulfilled that mission statement in many ways.

I began volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House in seventh grade by cooking dinners and breakfast for the families at the house about once a month. Through my years of volunteering, I have found myself moved by the experiences at the house.

My eighth grade year, we went down one Sunday afternoon the weekend before Halloween to host a pizza dinner for the families. I had been a couple of times before, but this time truly moved me. Two sisters, sixteen and thirteen, were in the rehabilitation program at the Children's Hospital after experiencing at traumatic car accident a month before. The program was a unique one, that was only offered in the Children's Hospital in downtown Atlanta, just across the street from Ronald McDonald. Although the sisters were from Seattle, they participated in the program because of the severity of their conditions. Halloween had always been the families favorite holiday, but this year the family would not be allowed to return home because of the girls' rigorous program; the girls were devastated. However, the other volunteers and I decided to provide a memorable Halloween by leaving briefly to buy decorations. The girls were grateful to see the decorations, and attempted to help us put them up all around the house. Although the girls would not have a traditional Halloween, the girls would at least be able to enjoy a small glimpse of home.

This past Saturday, I returned to the Ronald McDonald House to cook a pancake breakfast with my mom and 2 other mother/daughter pairs. Seeing the appreciation the families feel for such a small task like making them breakfast, I felt truly amazed. I am so grateful that we are able to volunteer so often with them, and I hope that we can impact their lives as much as they impact ours.