Ronald McDonald House Charities

Heartfelt Times Newsletter Spring 2012

Doug — Thu, 17 May 2012 03:23:42 +0000

Family Stories

The Said Family

Rima Said, left, and her daughter, Lamar, 3, right, join with Hank and Faye Sokol, “Cooks for Kids” volunteers, to prepare a home-cooked meal for guests. The Said Family is staying at the Ronald McDonald House while daughter, Jana, 4, receives outpatient treatment for leukemia. The family has been here for 10 months now, and will stay for as long as it takes to complete Jana’s cancer treatment. Many families like the Saids feel more at home when they can cook their own meals and maintain a familiar routine for their children. Families must spend long hours at the hospital with their sick child, and having community volunteers cook for them is a blessing.

Lamar Said, 3, above left. and her sister Jana, 4, enjoy blowing bubbles in the garden at the Ronald McDonald House. The long illness of a child can be an emotional rollercoaster, and adults and children alike appreciate this tranquil spot that provides them with a place to relax, rest and heal.

The Michienzi Family

Megan Michienzi, 11, who travels to Buffalo for testing, receives a hug from Sabretooth, the Sabres mascot, who accompanied a group representing the Buffalo Sabres that cooked dinner for guests. Despite their illness, kids can be kids at the Ronald McDonald House. The large playroom is a favorite spot for many youngsters and gives them something to look forward to when they must make frequent trips for medical treatment.

The Witmer Family

Brodey, 11, center, is surrounded by loved ones at the Ronald McDonald House. Clockwise from right are Kathie, Brodey’s grandmother; Kaylee, Brodey’s sister; Natalie Witmer, Brodey’s mother, and a family friend. Brodey feels right at home at the Ronald McDonald House. He has been staying here since his first birthday when he had to begin traveling to Buffalo for specialized treatment. He suffers from a condition called Vein of Galen Malformation, which results in brain aneurysms. It can be frightening for a child to undergo medical treatment far from home, but the Ronald McDonald House makes sure his family is right there with him.

The Marlowe Family

The Marlowe family prepared a home-cooked meal for resident families to return the support and friendship they had received while staying at the Ronald McDonald House in 2010. From left are Major Bill Marlowe; Maddy, 2; Sabrina, Hannah and Liam. After seven months in Iraq, Major Marlowe expected to go home to North Carolina to meet Maddy, then three months old, who had been born while he was deployed. Instead, he was told to go to Buffalo, where she was hospitalized with an infection that caused serious breathing problems. The Ronald McDonald House allowed him and his wife to be near their sick child. The House also gave him the opportunity to reconnect with the other children who hadn’t seen him in seven months. “I don’t know how I ever would have done it without the House,” said Sabrina. “I want people to know how appreciative we are for the support, the hugs and the friendship we found there.”

Your gift helps us keep parents close to their sick children. Please give generously.
Please consider donating using one of the options below and help us make our house their home.

Donate Online

You may make a secure online donation using your Visa, MasterCard or American Express credit card through PayPal.

Please note that once you have completed your online donation, you will be directed back to our site where an additional form will be presented for you to provide additional information about your donation if you wish.

Other Methods of Giving

A printable donation form is also available, or you may call our office at (716) 883-1177 to make a donation over the phone.

The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Western New York is not a member of the United Way of Buffalo & Erie County, but may receive contributions through the United Way Donor Choice Program. The Charity also receives contributions through the State Employee Federated Appeal (SEFA) and Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) programs. You can designate that all, or a portion, of your employee contribution to the United Way, SEFA or CFC come to RMHC.

Our Families Thank You!

Notes from Sally

During National Volunteer Week in April, we hung a banner to welcome our weekly shift volunteers, and staff members prepared breakfast and lunch for them. We wanted to honor the people who contribute generous, selfless hours making the Ronald McDonald House a home and give gifts of kindness to the families staying at the House.

One of these volunteers is Al Dittenhauser, Master of House Maintenance, who generously donates two days of his time each week so that families can be assured of having a comfortable and safe residence. When Al is not replacing burned-out chandelier bulbs or freeing up house water lines, he is building or repairing equipment in this 14,000-square-foot House.

Check out the photos below to see the many ways volunteers help our families, and go to rmhcwny.org or call us at (716) 883-1177 to become a volunteer, too!

Thank you all for your loyal support!

Sally Vincent, Executive Director

Housebriefs

There are many ways you can help the House. We invite Western New York companies, organizations and community groups to support the Ronald McDonald House through donations of cash, products or services or by organizing a fundraising event.

Perhaps you can supply items from our Wish List, which can be seen at rmhcwny.org. Volunteers are always needed for our Cooks For Kids meal preparation program.

No matter how big or small your donation, your gift makes a real difference in the lives of our families!


Kylie Dennison and Allyson Terhaar delivered thousands of aluminum pull tabs collected by school children in Webster, N.Y. The Ronald McDonald House recycles donated tabs and uses the cash to purchase items that are needed for the house. Pull for Ronald McDonald House families!	Wives and friends of the Buffalo Sabres players and coaches volunteered by preparing a delicious barbeque for families. Sabres mascot, Sabretooth, charmed children staying at the Ronald McDonald House.	Members of New Bethel Community Church prepared a delicious chicken dinner and delivered hugs of support to guests. Two families in the congregation stayed at Ronald McDonald Houses when their children were hospitalized in Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Stephon, far left, is a heart transplant recipient and his family was grateful for the support they received from the House in Pittsburgh.


Amanda Schwartz, member of the National Junior Honor Society, made “grab and go” bags for families to take to the hospital. The bags hold an assortment of appealing snacks and a bottle of water that families can grab on their way to the hospital to visit their sick or injured child.	Holy Angels Academy students blitzed the Ronald McDonald House. Below the freshmen prepare lunch for guest families, and at left, juniors perform a spring clean-up of the grounds.


Children from Nardin Academy Montessori School walked to the Ronald McDonald House to donate Valentine treats for families and tour the house.

13 Photos

15th Annual Ronald McDonald House Golf Classic

Doug — Wed, 02 May 2012 04:13:31 +0000

For more information, please click here: RMH Golf sponsorship 2012 to see the full details

Southwest Airlines 2012 Buffalo Charity Golf Event

Doug — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 05:37:47 +0000

Benefiting the Buffalo Ronald McDonald House Charities

WHEN: Friday July 20th, 2012

WHERE: Chestnut Hill Country Club, Darien, New York

PRICE: $480.00 Team

GAME: Four Person Scramble

Southwest Airlines Buffalo Station is pleased to announce its annual golf tournament. This year the Buffalo Station has again set out to raise money for the Buffalo Ronald McDonald House Charities. Please join us in helping to raise money for this very special event.
The tournament will be held on Friday July 20th, 2012 at Chestnut Hill Country Club, Darien, New York. This will be a Shotgun start commencing promptly at 1:30 PM, registration begins at 11:30am.There will be openings for only 36 amateur foursomes. The tournament is a four person scramble. Team spots will be reserved upon receipt of full payment. This event always fills quickly and will be on a first come, first serve basis. Partial teams will be accepted and your name will be added to a list to make a foursome.

The tournament will include the following:
*Green fees for 18 holes of golf*
*Golf cart*
*Plenty of on course beverages*
*Lunch will be served prior to start*
*Buffet dinner and awards ceremony at the conclusion of the tournament*
*Open bar following tournament*
*Additional non golfer dinner, open bar and bidding packages available for $28.00

Prizes, Awards and Extras:
*Men’s and women’s first and second place finishes*
*Hole-in-one contests*
*Men and women’s longest drive competition*
*Men and women’s closest to the pin competition*
*Putting contest for roundtrip Southwest Airlines ticket*
*Chinese auction tables*
*50/50 split raffle*
*Silent auctions*

Please send check along with a completed registration form to:

Southwest Airlines Buffalo Charity Golf Event
Attn. Chad Kaczmarek
281 Cayuga Street
Cheektowaga, New York 14225

*Make checks payable to: Chad Kaczmarek Charity Golf Event*
** We regret to inform you that we can no longer accept Credit Card for payment**

Any additional information needed is available by contacting Neil O’Donnell (716)631-5489 or Chad Kaczmarek, Southwest Airlines Buffalo Cargo facility at (716) 631-5237, Monday through Friday between the hours of 9:00am and 2:00pm

2012 RegistrationForm

12th Annual WNYRIC Open Golf Tournament

Doug — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 05:16:07 +0000

The 12th Annual WNYRIC Open will be held at Byrncliff Resort and Conference Center on Thursday August 2nd, 2012. Last year’s WNYRIC Open raised $2600 for the Ronald McDonald House of Buffalo. It was a huge success and we are looking forward to another successful golf tournament again this coming August.

For more information and to register, please visit their web site at: https://sites.google.com/site/wnyricopen12/

The Third Annual John J. Fiore Memorial Golf Tournament to Benefit the Ronald McDonald House of Buffalo

Doug — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 04:58:24 +0000

Remembering the life of a hero

Family and friends are hosting this event in honor of John, who we lost on February 12, 2009 aboard Flight 3407 in Clarence, NY.

When: Saturday, Aug.18, 2012

11:00am Registration
1:00pm Shotgun Start
6:00pm Dinner

Where:

Doug — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 04:56:29 +0000

Jenna Temple is very grateful to the donors of the Ronald McDonald House of Buffalo.

“Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to bond with my son,” Jenna said. “I couldn’t have been with him for the first two months of his life.”

Please donate to the Ronald McDonald House® of Buffalo so that we can continue to help families be there for their sick children.

Jenna lives in Frewsburg, but had to deliver her son in Buffalo so that he could get the medical care he needed. Baby Izack was born Dec. 15 with spina bifada, a birth defect in which the backbone and spinal canal haven’t closed. He also had hydrocephalus, or water on the brain, which can cause damage to his brain.

Jenna’s home is a two-hour drive or even a two-and-one-half-hour drive from Buffalo, depending on the weather. Jenna was glad that a friend told her about the Ronald McDonald House.

“There’s no way I could have afforded a motel room or hotel room,” Jenna said. Even driving back and forth each day costs $40 for gas. That’s expensive, especially since Izack was hospitalized for two months.

When Izack was just two days old, he had surgery to repair his spine as well as many other treatments. Little Izack was very fragile and Jenna needed to be close by.

“The Ronald McDonald House was just three blocks away from the hospital,” she said. “If anything happened, I knew I could be right there.”

Jenna did make one short trip home at Christmastime, but she was awakened at 3 a.m. with a call that baby Izack would need an emergency treatment. Since Jenna was still recovering from a Caesarian section, her sister drove her all the way back to Buffalo.

“After that, I never left Buffalo,” she said. “I couldn’t. It was too scary.”

Jenna is grateful that she was able to stay at the Ronald McDonald House.

“It was a blessing,” she said. “There was no way I could have done it without them.”

Jenna appreciated that the staff and volunteers at the Ronald McDonald House were able to meet the demands of her erratic schedule.

“If I needed a ride to the hospital at 6 a.m., they’d take me,” she said. “They went out of their way to make sure I’d get to the hospital. I could eat whenever I wanted to.”

She could do her laundry at the House, and if she needed to stop in at the pharmacy, volunteers would get her there.

“They made my life a lot easier,” she said.

During this stressful time, they would ask how Izack was doing, and they would listen.

“They made you feel at home,” Jenna said.

After two months in the hospital, baby Izack came home Feb. 9 and is doing pretty well. He still has a heart monitor. The skin on his back is healing well enough that he can now lie on his back, but he may need more work on his skin graft. He may need a shunt replaced.

Izack will continue to need to be seen by doctors in Buffalo, and Jenna has already made plans to stay at the Ronald McDonald House for doctor visits next month.

“Thank God they’re there and thank God for everything they do,” Jenna said. “I’m very grateful to them.” Please use the enclosed envelope or donate online so that the Ronald McDonald House can continue to be a home-away-from-home for families of sick children.

“I know a lot of families are grateful for the Ronald McDonald House. Who knows what would happen to a lot of those babies without their parents being able to see them?” – Jenna Temple

Your gift helps us keep parents close to their sick children. Please give generously.
Please consider donating using one of the options below and help us make our house their home.

Donate Online

You may make a secure online donation using your Visa, MasterCard or American Express credit card through PayPal.

Other Methods of Giving

A printable donation form is also available, or you may call our office at (716) 883-1177 to make a donation over the phone.

Our Families Thank You!

March 2012 Donations and Volunteer Groups

Doug — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 04:19:52 +0000

March 2012 Cooks for Kids

Doug — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 04:19:02 +0000