Every Pop Tab Counts!

Last week at the Ronald McDonald Family Room inside Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare, I was very excited to see a patient named Gavin bring in a large bag. I asked Gavin what was inside the bag and he said “A ton of pop tabs!” In fact, it was a 12lb bag of pop tabs he had been saving for us. Gavin had his friends and family save all of their pop tabs over the last few months. He was so excited to donate them and I was equally excited to accept them! Thank you to everyone who collects pop tabs, and just as Gavin told me, every pop tab counts and makes a difference.

Pantry Donation!

Thank you, Twin City Bond Club, for supporting the Ronald McDonald Family Room with your donation.

At the Ronald McDonald Family Room inside Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare, we are SO thankful when we receive donations of any sort. Last week, we received a donation from the Twin City Bond Club to help keep our pantry stocked! The pantry is such a wonderful part of our space and is truly appreciated by all of the families here. There is nothing like a homemade meal and feeling taken care of during a difficult time. Thanks to donors like the Twin City Bond Club, this is a reality for families at the Ronald McDonald Family Room! From all of the families and staff at the Ronald McDonald Family Room, thank you, Twin City Bond Club for making sure our pantry is full! What an amazing showing of support!

A Family's Journey

By Steph Boehmer, Assistant House Manager - Chicago Avenue
Ronald McDonald House inside Children's Hospital, Minneapolis

When I arrived to work at RMH-Chicago Ave this afternoon, I was met with great news. A little boy who had undergone major heart surgery had been discharged after morning rounds and the family had headed home. I couldn’t help but reflect back on the difficult journey I witnessed the family endure in just a matter weeks and found great joy in the positive outcome. I had first met this family when they walked through the door the evening prior to their son’s surgery. The mom was exhausted; which was evident in her stance and eyes. The child's father was doing his best to provide whatever comfort he could to mom. Together they explained they were in search of somewhere to get a good night of rest before the rough day they had ahead of them. Sleeping bedside provided no relief due to the constant beeping of machines, nurses passing by on rounds and lack of a comfortable bed. While filling out the registration sheet, the mother struggled to focus on the information provided on the form. The dad stood patiently beside her, guiding her through each portion. I walked them to their overnight room and as I opened the door and turned on the lights, an instant look of relief washed over their faces as they took in the sight of the warmly decorated room with a queen sized bed and private bathroom. The dad exclaimed it was exactly what they needed, while mom expressed heartfelt thanks. The family faced many ups and downs following the surgery, but were able to find refuge in the house; staying many nights in the overnight room and using the hospitality area for meals and respite. There was an evident change in the child's mother, who soon went from looking tired and weary to rejuvenated and focused. Just last night, the father, with a huge smile on his face, came to inform me it would probably be their last night at the House, as they were expecting to be able to return home the next day. I later saw the parents with their older daughter out on the patio enjoying one last Cooks For Kids meal, talking, laughing and looking carefree. It was a complete 180 from the first night I had met the family. Stories like theirs are a great illustration of the journey a family can take, and how the comforts of home can aid them in facing challenges head-on. I feel honored I get to witness the spirit and resiliency of these families, and I will never grow tired of celebrating with them upon hearing that their child is being discharged.

A colorful week at the RMH - Oak Street

What a colorful week at the RMH - Oak Street.

Color abounded at the Oak Street House last week.
One outing was to see the new Smurfs movie...it was very blue and smurfy!!

And we made 51 very colorful, very beautiful tee shirts. We love to see our kids get creative!

There are a few steps to creating these beauties:

First, you need to wrap up the boring, plain white tee shirt with rubber bands....

then the fun begins.... adding all sorts of fabulous colors!!

After adding all that color... the shirt soaks it all in overnight...



















and then...... the shirts are unwrapped, rinsed and washed



















and then we get to see how each one turned out....

unique and gorgeous - just like each person who created them.

Johnstech International Cooks for Kids!

The volunteer meal groups through our Cooks for Kids program make our mission possible. Tonight's group at the RMH - Oak Street is Johnstech International, currently setting up a carnival-themed evening for families. They even brought a cotton candy machine!

Interested in getting involved with Cooks for Kids? Click HERE to learn more!

A crazy, wonderful week at the RMH - Oak St!

WOW! Last week was so great... field trips (rock climbing and seeing some fun movies), go cart rides, a cook out, BINGO, a lemon-aid stand and 144 new beds donated by Tempur-Pedic!

So many wonderful folks from the community helped us...

• The Aquatenniel Ambassadors helped with our lemon-aid stand.
  


• A group of volunteers from St. Paul Heating, Plumbing and Air and students from the U of M helped unload the 3 semis full of mattresses, box springs and frames.
  


• A group from C H Robinson came and helped put the new bed frames together.
  


• The Anoka High School football team ran the stairs of the house while lifting the mattresses and box springs.



• Our neighbors at the dental and medical fraternity helped out as the final beds were put into the rooms as the sun went down!
  


• Many of our regular volunteers came in for extra shifts to help and staff members and their families pitched in too.



• Last, our amazing families even pitched in - moving beds, putting the frames together, vacuuming and being flexible with the chaos.
  
  Here are a couple of fun slide shows of all the excitement....
  be sure to open the slide show to see the captions...
  

The kids rock climbing....
The Lemon-Aid stand...

Check out these happy, helpful faces... we couldn't have done it without all of you. To those folks who were too speedy to be caught by the camera, thank you!

A show of Paula and Anna in their pink shirts moving mattresses!! They worked hard... and notice Paula walking backward.

2 days of bed moving = crazy fun!


Wow, that was a great week. We all hope next week is this fun! Well, maybe we don't need beds next week!

New PSA Donated By FOX Sports North!

Hey Minnesota Twins fans, keep an eye out for our brand new PSA thanks to the generosity of FOX Sports North! They worked with us to create a 15-second PSA that will play throughout the season on FSN.

Watch it here first and let us know what you think!