Southern Appalachian Ronald Mcdonald House Charities

The Southern Appalachian Ronald Mcdonald House (hereafter referred to as House) is a program of the Southern Appalachian Ronald Mcdonald House Charities, (Charities), governed by a board of directors and managed by an executive director, director of House operations and staff who over-see the day to day operations. Guest families and children served by the House come from a radius of 125 miles outside the city limits of johnson city, tn. (includes counties located in ne Tennessee, sw Virginia, eastern Kentucky and west Virginia). The House is in johnson city, tn but is a regional facility. As of december 2020, families from southwest Virginia continue to use the House southwest Virginia 59% northeast Tennessee 32% eastern Kentucky 1% misc. States 8% the House is 14,000 sq. Feet, has 10 bedrooms/private baths with a kitchen, laundry room, tv rooms and play areas as well as common areas shared by all guest families. Evening meals are provided by church groups, civic organizations, fraternal groups, families/friends or restaurants at least 20 out of 30 days. Breakfast and lunch foods are available for families to prepare at their leisure. Children and families of seriously ill children receiving medical care in a local hospital setting are eligible to stay as guests at the House. A child must be a dependent of the parent(s), 21 years or younger. Families living the greatest distance from the hospital providing medical care for the child are given priority in staying at the House. A critically ill child or one in imminent danger of death receives priority regardless of distance. A nightly contribution of 10 is requested. However, no one is ever turned away because of the inability to make the suggested contribution. In 2022, the average nightly contribution was .58, and the average length of stay was 11 days. The House provided 2,110 nights and received 1,228.39 through contributions from guest families. The suggested contribution of 10 helps to defray the full cost of 80/night to provide services for families who stay at the House. If the House had not been available the out of pocket expense for families would have been approximately 540,897.50 (motel, food, gas, laundry, miscellaneous items). The board of directors is responsible for raising funds to meet the budgetary needs of the House each year. The charity is dependent on fundraising events and donations to provide services for children and families of seriously ill children at the House. Fundraising events include: hearts for the House; shamrock shuffle 5k, and the annual golf classic. Various organizations, groups and Mcdonald's restaurants throughout the service area hold fundraising events to benefit the House as well. In-kind donations donated by the community range from canned goods, paper products, fresh vegetables, home-made breads, muffins to someone providing yard work, professional cleaning, clerical assistance, cleaning the kitchen, mopping floors, replacing smoke detectors, replacing filters on heating/ac units and monthly checks of the fire extinguishers. These generous in-kind donations help defray the cost of providing services and we are better able to provide for the children and families of children who find a supportive atmosphere at our House. There is a staff of 4 full-time employees and 4 part-time employees. Volunteers are essential to the operations of the House. Volunteer's clean rooms, wash linens, mop floors, run the vacuum, clean windows, bake cakes/cookies, register/check-out families, and help with fundraising events. Volunteers do whatever needs to be done to keep the House clean and inviting for our guest families. In 2022, 1,052 volunteers contributed 2,800 hours to the House for a value of 101,019.82. The Southern Appalachian Ronald Mcdonald House continues to be a haven for children and families of seriously ill children. The staff and volunteers provide a loving, supportive atmosphere away from the hospital setting that allows families to be more relaxed and build their resources. The guest families in the House become one big family sharing and nurturing each other through the good times as well as the bad times. We cannot provide all the amenities of home, but we can provide families with as much normalcy as possible during a difficult time with a sick child. While we cannot take away the crisis we can give families with a sick child the best medicine - each other. Evaluations of the House and staff by families who stay at the House continue to show what a blessing and a need is met by the Southern Appalachian Ronald Mcdonald House during a time of crisis with a child. We continue to meet our mission of providing a "temporary home away from home" for children and families of seriously ill children receiving medical care in any area hospital. Ronald Mcdonald House Charities global, chicago, il requires each Ronald Mcdonald House Charities, Inc. to have at least one year's operating expense in reserve. These reserve funds will hold the Charities Ronald Mcdonald House program in good stead should there be difficult times or disaster. Our Charities has reached this milestone by careful appropriation of monies raised through fundraising events, being transparent, accountable and responsible for funds donated by stakeholder and due diligence