Ronald mcdonald house
Project Description:
My project was making fleece-tie blankets for the families at the Ronald McDonald House. In order to have all the materials I needed to complete this project I asked for fabric donations from friends, family, and my church congregation. With their help I had enough materials to complete 25 fleece-tie blankets. The process of making the blankets is simple. First you must cut the edges into strips and then you knot the strips together. This process is simple, but very time consuming. After I completed all 25 blankets, I then delivered them to the Ronald McDonald House.
My project was making fleece-tie blankets for the families at the Ronald McDonald House. In order to have all the materials I needed to complete this project I asked for fabric donations from friends, family, and my church congregation. With their help I had enough materials to complete 25 fleece-tie blankets. The process of making the blankets is simple. First you must cut the edges into strips and then you knot the strips together. This process is simple, but very time consuming. After I completed all 25 blankets, I then delivered them to the Ronald McDonald House.
Community Involvement:
Even though my senior project didn't involve personal interaction with people, I was able to touch the lives of 25 Ronald McDonald House families. When starting this project I never realized how many families were in need of comfort and support from on organization like the Ronald McDonald House. Every time they use that blanket to cuddle with and stay warm, they will be reminded of how much love and support they were given in the hardest of times.
Ronald McDonald House:
The Ronald McDonald House came about because of Fred Hill and Dr. Aubrey Evans. Fred Hill, a former Philadelphia Eagles player, learned that his daughter had leukemia in 1973. Along with many other families they would constantly be having to sleep on uncomfortable, hospital couches while staying with their children during treatments. Dr. Evans came up with the idea of giving the families a comfortable place to stay while their children were in the hospital. With the financial help and support of the Philadelphia Eagles and McDonald's, the first Ronald McDonald House opened in 1974 in Philadelphia. The mission and goal of the Ronald McDonald house is to improve the well being of children by offering families a place to stay and a meal to eat while their sick child is staying in the hospital.
Mentor:
My mentor is Theresa Floyd Maas. She was the house operations manager at the Evansville Ronald McDonald House, but she currently was promoted to Executive Director. Since my project was completed at home, I kept in contact with Ms. Maas by email.
Timetable:
In September, I started asking for fleece donations. I would usually try to make at least 4-5 blankets a weekend. With both the cutting and tying process, it would take between an hour to an hour and a half to complete a full blanket. In the end, I completed 25 fleece-tie blankets and delivered them to the Ronald McDonald House on December 18.
Self Evaluation:
When starting this project I never realized how many families were in need of comfort and support from an organization like the Ronald McDonald House. Working on this project and donating the blankets made me realize how fortunate my family and I have been. Unlike the average volunteer project, my blankets will be with the families who received them for a very long time.