The Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) is a nonprofit organization which assists families with sick children in a variety of ways. With 336 locations globally, RMHC aims to keep families together when they are dealing with the most difficult of times. When children get diagnosed with an illness which sends them to a hospital far from their home, the Ronald McDonald House offers families home-cooked meals, private bedrooms, and playrooms for children. Families sometimes have to relocate their lives thousands of miles away to get the best treatment for their children. Instead of caring about hotel and restaurant bills, families can properly care about supporting their hospitalized child.
The RMHC runs on the support and donations of volunteers and donors so families do not have to pay for the services. Families are asked to donate up to $25 per day of stay, however, the global policy of the Ronald McDonald House Charities is that families will never be turned away if that fee is not possible. A well-established organization like RMHC needs help from philanthropists like us to continue their work both with our financial generosity but with advocacy and volunteering.
The Ronald McDonald House Charities has impacted many lives (including mine and my family’s) and continues to be a wonderful organization that aids families when they need it the most. A fundamental goal of the RMHC is to just that while bringing hope and happiness at times when it is the most need.
I’m recommending our class donates to this Charity Navigator four-star rated charity because of the accessibility to families with sick children whose focus should be on their families and not the financial burden of traveling accommodations.
I find it very interesting that you are choosing the Ronald McDonald House Charities as your charity pitch organization. Nearly everyone is familiar with the golden arches of McDonald's, and with their mascot Ronald McDonald, but I'm sure few people know about this organization, and even less know what exactly it does. I, for one, am part of the group who has heard of this organization before but never knew what it was all about. The fact that it provides almost unconventional aid to families with sick children is very interesting to me. Most organizations will provide aid with paying the bills or offer events to cheer the children themselves up, but the Ronald McDonald House Charities is making sure that everyone in the family is ok.
ReplyDeleteMy only question about your choice of organization is simply why this one? As you stated it is already well-established, so it has plenty of money coming in each year. Why choose this large organization as opposed to a smaller, more local organization that may need more help? I suppose this question can be applied to almost any charity pitch we are going to see throughout the course of the semester. The first week we had Francesca with the local Broome County Animal Shelter and TJ with the Amazon Conservation Association. I found it very difficult to choose between the two, and I am facing the same difficulty when choosing my own charity to share with the class. I guess I'm just wondering what made you choose this organization over, say, Chloe's Mothers and Babies.
This is definitely a great charity. After hearing your charity pitch in class, I can see how much Ronald McDonald House Charities has impacted you and your family. When I think of McDonald's, I tend to think of the "Super Size Me" documentary, or I think about all the people who say how the food isn't good for you and can lead to obesity, heart problems, and other negatives. But after hearing your presentation, as well as reading your blog post, I can see that McDonald's really is one of those organizations that cares about the people they serve.
ReplyDeleteIn all honesty, I've heard of Ronald McDonald House Charities before, though I never knew what it stood for, as well as what they exactly did (I assumed they just made houses for foster kids, for some reason). I never figured they would practically be taking care of families when they need it most.
One thing that surprised me was that while there are some advertisements on RMHC, there really aren't that many, and they don't tend to get their name out. Meanwhile, I remember how there was one Super Bowl after a hurricane where Budweiser spent $500,000 to advertise how they donated roughly $50,000 on using their Budweiser bottles and filling it with water to donate to people who need it. They spent 10x the amount of money advertising the good they did rather than use that towards doing more good. With RMHC, they don't seem to focus on advertising how good they are to bring in more business or seem super philanthropic in the public eye. They care more about getting results in their houses and helping those who actually need.
It's interesting to see that you are supporting an organization that is so well established and seems to have a great budget, but I can totally understand why considering your personal ties to the organization. I support your cause very much and will be thinking about your personal story every time I get Chicken McNuggets.
I am glad that somebody chose Ronald McDonald House Charities, and I was actually waiting for somebody to do it because I know that poor associations can often do more harm than good. Ronald McDonald is a symbol of McDonald's, as any person would be able to tell you. One thing that daunts many people before they even begin to consider RMHC is the relationship that it has to the global fast-food chain that is easily one of the most recognizable corporate franchises in the world. This seems intimidating to any person who is looking to give their money to a charitable cause. This is an unfortunate truth for RMHC, especially when trying to imagine their prospect of future success being hindered by their ties to McDonald's. However, much of the money the organization does receive is from McDonald's, and it is undoubtedly true that RMHC would not be as stable as it is today without contributions from their name-sharing restaurant empire. This appreciation and reliance on the fast-food chain is demonstrated through the adoption of Ronald as the icon of the charity, reflecting the significant dependence that the charity really has on McDonald's.
ReplyDeleteWhile the importance of mindful charitable giving is exemplified and talked about by many of the country's top donors, it is sometimes overlooked by the common donor. I believe that using Ronald McDonald as an emblem of the RMHC is fitting for its name and sponsorship, but I do see it as a dissuasion for many people. It might seem hard for a donor to trust an organization that owes its name to a private company whose specialty had been historically unrepresentative of the mission of health associated with the charity. Additionally, the charity and restaurant are intertwined, and while the donation of money by the restaurant to the charity clearly does not express malicious intent, it does perhaps represent perhaps a vested interest that McDonald's has in self-propagating their image as kind. Therefore, although the work of RMHC does not in any way provide money to the McDonald's corporation, I find it unsettling that McDonald's earns publicity from an organization that works to better the lives of families with sick children.
Regardless of this, seeing the real world examples and reading about the mission of RMHC has assured me that there is a lot of good happening inside the organization despite the association between it and the restaurant. Even though McDonald’s is a main funder of the organization, I would be interested in finding out whether or not the publicity campaign that comes from their partnership is detrimental to the amount of money that RMHC could be bringing in without its evident and obvious ties with the fast food franchise.