Mike Pound: Change will do Ronald McDonald House good

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September 8, 2010

By Mike Pound news@joplinglobe.com The Joplin Globe Wed Sep 08, 2010, 06:45 PM CDT

Whenever I need some change, I go into the basement, where we keep our own personal change machine.

As change machines go, ours is pretty cool. When it’s not acting as a change machine, we are able to use it to dry clothes. I don’t know how the drying machine turns into a change machine. It just does. I suppose the drying machine becomes a change machine in the same way the drying machine turns into a place where socks go to die. All I know is that when we put clothes into the drying machine and then take them out, we find change. Lots of it.

I was thinking about our change/drying machine Wednesday while talking with Tara Horinek. Tara is the house manager at the Ronald McDonald House at 34th Street and Jackson Avenue. As most folks know, Ronald McDonald Houses across the country provide a “home away from home” for families of seriously ill children in local hospitals. The homes are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and are staffed almost entirely by volunteers.

In Joplin, the Ronald McDonald House serves family members who have children at Freeman Health System or St. John’s Regional Medical Center. The Joplin Ronald McDonald House has been open for 12 years now, and Tara says about 200 families a year benefit from the generosity of the folks who support and staff the house.

As the name indicates, McDonald’s restaurants have long been avid supporters of the Ronald McDonald Houses. For years, McDonald’s restaurants across the country have raised money for their local Ronald McDonald Houses by simply displaying donation boxes near the cash registers and drive-through windows for people to deposit spare change. I’ve always thought that was a pretty neat way for local folks to help out other local folks.

Tara told me that last year alone, all of those pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and occasional pieces of paper money brought in $17,000 for the local Ronald McDonald House.

Today, Ronald McDonald Houses nationwide are holding the first ever “Day of Change.” They are encouraging McDonald’s customers to make an extra effort to drop some of their spare change (or, better yet, spare bills) into the donation boxes. You don’t even have to make a purchase. All you have to do is walk into an area McDonald’s and unload some change. Granted, it’s pretty tough to walk into a McDonald’s without ordering something. I, personally, am very fond of the Double Quarter Pounder with cheese

I’ve been out to the Ronald McDonald House on several occasions, and I’ve always been impressed with how the place feels. It’s comfortable, of course. It’s spotless, and the furnishings always have a well-kept look to them. But beyond that, the place has always felt like home. It’s always felt like a place where I could, if I wanted, walk into the kitchen, grab something out of the refrigerator and sit down for a bite.

But, then again, that’s pretty much the point.

“We want to provide a comfortable home away from home,” Tara said.

One of the amazing things about the Ronald McDonald House is the number of volunteers it takes to run the place. As I mentioned, there is someone — and often several people — working at the house at all times. Think about that. Volunteers staff the Ronald McDonald House every day of the week, every month of the year. When someone who is unfortunate enough to have a child in an area hospital on Dec. 25, for example, wakes up on Christmas morning, there is a volunteer available to help.

I think that’s something.

For information about the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Four States or to ask about volunteering, people may call 624-2273 or visit the organization’s website at rmhjoplin.org.

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Mike Pound: Change will do Ronald McDonald House good

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