Today we have a guest blogger – one of our RMHC interns, Amanda.

Tuesday/Thursdays are my favorite days of the week. Not just because they both start with the letter “t” or end in “day,” but because Tuesdays and Thursdays are the days I have the privilege of interning at the Ronald McDonald House here in Fargo.

The first couple of days of interning were a whirlwind. I wanted to learn everything I could about RMHC in a short period of time along with jumping head first into various projects around the office. The ladies at the South house were able to hone all of my excitement about this new journey into sky-high productivity.

With the Sweetheart Ball (SHB) approaching fast, I was attached to the scanner at the hip, making sure each donation we had received had been scanned onto the computer. Being from California, I thoroughly enjoy driving for long periods of time so when I was asked to travel around the FM area to pick-up silent auction donations; I set up Google Maps on my phone (a girl’s best friend) and was raring to go. I never really knew where I was heading but I was glad to be a part of something bigger. Let’s just say I may have taken a wrong turn here or there but in the end each and every donated item made it to the silent auction table at the SHB.

The morning of the SHB had arrived and the committee, staff, and volunteers arrived bright eyed and bushy tailed. Projects were given out and without hesitation, everyone went straight to work. I helped organize the silent auction items, labeled name cards, and even had the opportunity to sit down with some of the ladies who helped to plan the event over a six-inch sub from Subway. As night fell, I threw on my blazer and heels and was ready for SHB 2012.

As guests arrived, I could hear the chatter of old friends reuniting, coworkers excited to represent their company, children laughing and playing, and most importantly the sweet voice of Ronald McDonald. Side note:  I was excited when I received my “I met Ronald” sticker and I now have it displayed in my apartment for all the world to see. As the evening progressed, so did the excitement for what this organization stands for. We heard one family’s story of their experience with RMHC and I was moved to tears. The night was filled with laughs, silent auction battles, and good company.

After the SHB was complete, it was time to resurface things that had been buried under receipts, thank you notes, donation requests, and decorations. Things like the beginnings of the 2011 Annual Report, pictures for updating the website, and a newsletter to name a few. There is definitely work to be done. J  We are now at the beginning stages of planning the annual Golf Tournament, which takes place in July. Letters have been sent out and teams are starting to form. I unfortunately will not be able to see the final product, being that I graduate from Concordia in May but I know that the hard work put into this event will not go unnoticed.

That’s it from me,

-The Intern

Amanda hard at work at the Sweetheart Ball

Wow! It has been far too long since our last blog post. I know, I know – every person I talk to says the key to writing a good blog is consistency – so first I wanted to apologize for the inconsistent words coming from this end. Here we go – My first EVER New Year’s resolution (2 months later): Be better at writing this blog – now you need to hold me to it!

As I sat in front of my computer screen today I was trying to think of where to begin with getting ‘up to date’ with the Ronald McDonald House. So much has happened since December I’m not even sure where to begin, but what kept coming back to me was how thankful that I am (we all are!) for all the support we have received.

Since the last blog post: We were able to offer Christmas gifts to the families that didn’t have time and/or funds to get any, take part in Cowboy Christmas in Flom (a DEFINITE MUST ATTEND for everyone next year!), have a tremendous time with phenomenal support at the 23rd Annual Sweetheart Ball, get great support from on all our friends on Giving Heart’s Day, partner with Monster Jam to have a little fun with the kiddos, start recruiting for 2012 GoFar Charity team, partner with Camy Couture for a fun shopping day to benefit RMHC, and get nominated and become a finalist for the 2012 Chamber Choice Small Not-for-Profit of the year.

Time has been flying by! We are so excited for what is in store for this year, but as I reflect on what has already, I wanted to say THANK YOU! Thank you to our donors. Thank you to our volunteers. Thank you to our pop tab collectors. Thank you our Board of Directors. Thank you to our families. Thank you to our friends.

It’s that time of year again!! The Christmas songs are playing, calendars are filling up, it is absolutely ridiculous to try to find a parking spot at the mall, wreaths are hanging on doors, Christmas lights are lit up all over town, Santa is appearing at various locations, there is a sense of cheer in the air, and you can find giving trees around town. If you can’t tell – I LOVE Christmas.

My favorite part of the holidays is finding that perfect gift for someone and watching a smile crawl across their face as they open up THE PERFECT GIFT!

With the help of McDonald’s & the generous people of the Red River Valley, the Ronald McDonald House is giving the perfect gift to families who have children receiving medical care this holiday season. This is the second year that McDonald’s locations in the Red River Valley have paired up with the Ronald McDonald House to provide gifts for families that are staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Fargo.

Last year was an absolutely humbling experience to see the generosity of the people of the Red River Valley. Offering amenities & gifts to the families staying at our houses is an awesome gift that we are able to give because of all our supporters. It helps take the stress out of the holidays when these families are already in a stressful time.

Stop by your local McDonald’s and ask about the Giving Tree. You can pick an ornament off the tree and return the item to McDonald’s.

Some of the items from the Giving Tree in 2010

A HUGE THANK YOU to all the McDonald’s owner-operators in the Red River Valley and all who take part in the Giving Tree Project.

As many of you know, saving your pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House is an easy way to help out. All you have to do is pop off the tab of your pop or other beverage can, soup can, pet food can, tennis ball container, etc. and save them in some sort of container. When you get a good amount, you can drop off your pop tabs at the Ronald McDonald House, at Cash Wise foods (on 13th Ave in Fargo), or at any of the recycling centers and let them know you would like the proceeds to go to the Ronald McDoanld House.

Now, all that is fine and good – (We LOVE our pop tab collectors!) but we’re wondering – How do YOU pop the tab?

It was recently brought to my attention that some people have specific “methods” of how they get the pop tab off their can. Do you have a method? Do you make sure that you get the little circle that connects the tab to the can? Do you do the pop tab “flick”?

Personally – I do the frontward, backward, frontward, pull.

I’ve heard the – frontward, backward, frontward, twist & pull. (apparently the twist is important for keeping the circle connector with the tab)

So what’s your method?! Let us know!!

Circle connector off? Or on?

The Ronald McDonald House has small collector houses available upon request. If you are interested please email erica@rmhcfargo.org

Thank you to those who shared your method and brought this to my attention.

In case you didn’t get a chance to see this article in the Forum yesterday (9/27/11)

Daryl Johnson could have circled an 18-hole golf course with his string of about 4 million pop tops.

Instead, after about 20 years of collecting the aluminum can tops that are roughly a square inch in size, Johnson decided he would recycle them Monday and donate the proceeds to the Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Johnson said he started collecting the pop tops when friends and family brought him their spares. He meticulously strung each one through a nylon string, eventually filling the spare room in his Fergus Falls, Minn., home.

He measured 6,568 yards, roughly 4 miles worth, of strung tops by Monday.

“I wish I had more,” Johnson joked after unloading the tops at Gerdau Ameristeel Recycling in Fargo.

The day before, his sister Dolly Wambach, of Georgetown, Minn., and family spent about 12 hours loading the tops into a trailer borrowed to him by friend Shawn Olson for the transport.

“It’s pretty amazing. He’s been pretty dedicated,” Olson said.

As Johnson and Gerdau staff member Todd Harig unloaded the 5-foot-by-10-foot trailer full of tops, Harig said he has never seen anything like it.

“In a typical year, we’ll fill between two and three boxes – that is in a year,” Harig said. “We filled four boxes just today. It was quite something.”

Johnson said he decided to cash in his tops this year, after hearing about a Cowboy Christmas event in Flom, Minn., where he plans to present the check to the Ronald McDonald Houses in December.

Ronald McDonald Houses support families whose children need medical care by providing a home away from home while the children are receiving treatment.

Wambach said she is extremely proud of her brother, who just wanted to do something nice for “some nice people.”

“I am so proud of him. It’s just been fun all along,” she said.

Harig said that due to the amount of aluminum, Johnson was paid a premium per pound amount.

The pop tops weighed in at 1,813 pounds. Johnson was paid about 62 cents a pound, or roughly $1,200.

Original article (w/video) : http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/335310/

Danielle Irving of West Fargo is putting two of her passions together – running & RMHC.

Danielle started running marathons 3 years ago and on October 9th will be running her 9th full marathon in the Chicago marathon. This time Danielle is running for more, she’s running for the Ronald McDonald House Charities team. Danielle has been training for this marathon and decided to run with a purpose. Danielle is raising funds to support the Ronald McDonald House. Danielle mentioned, “Your donations will leave lasting impressions on the hearts and lives of families right here in Fargo to far reaching nations across the world.”

Runners on the  RMHC team are coming together to show  families that there is strength in numbers—strength in a team of runners passionately raising funds, awareness and advocacy for the Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Danielle & her family have been big supporters of the Ronald McDonald House for years and Danielle is excited that she can supported the House again in this way.

To find out more about Danielle & her race or to donate: http://www.active.com/donate/TeamRMHC2011/RunTeamIrving 

RMHC Fargo: http://www.rmhcfargo.org/

As I walked into work the other day it was brought to my attention that there were some pretty good sized cucumbers in our garden! This year at the Ronald McDonald House we decided to plant a raised bed vegetable garden.

Working with your hands is such a therapeutic activity and offering a therapeutic break and a sense of normalcy is a key aspect of our goals.

As the weather started to get nice last spring we knew that the perfect thing to add was a garden. In May our friends from Microsoft came to the House and took on the task of constructing! They dug up the area, constructed the raised bed, and got the bed all ready to go! It was perfect timing to get in some veggies!

Talk about perfect timing – as the bed was ready to be planted, a Mom that was staying at the House mentioned her love for gardening. This woman used to have a HUGE garden filled with all the vegetables that you could imagine! Her lot was on a corner and in such a spot that people driving through would stop and take pictures of her beautiful work. She had a green thumb (to say the least!). This year she had to give up her passion of gardening and concentrate on her new little baby.

She was delighted to find out that we were looking for someone to help plant our garden! That weekend she found a little bit of normalcy in her world that had been turned upside down – she planted a wonderful garden. This was quite the project but there was something fun and therapeutic about getting down on her knees and feeling the dirt in her hands. While she stayed with us she cared for that vegetable garden and left a piece of her green thumb with us!

Not only did her passion come through but she left an activity that has been passed on to other families. The families that stay with us care for, pick, and get to enjoy the delicious results of the garden.

Cucumbers might be one  of my favorite vegetables and I don’t think I’ve ever seen some so big! The garden is filled with roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, oregano, sage, and other herbs. Something so simple, so therapeutic, and so special has grown to be a source of therapy and a break in the chaos that is in the lives of our families.

Even if someone doesn’t like gardening there is a memory it brings or an aesthetic pleasure and peacefulness.

When was the last time you took time out of your day to feel the dirt between your fingers?

Wednesday, July 13^th was a perfect day for golf and a perfect day to come out and support the Ronald McDonald House! A fun day filled with games on the course and beautiful sunshine made for a successful 12^th Annual golf tournament.

Some early risers started off the morning at 7:30 am at the Rose Creek golf course in Fargo. As the morning players finished, participants for the afternoon session started rolling in and all were welcomed to a boxed lunch.

A short program with a welcome by committee chair Mark Gemar & with thanks from Executive Director Jill Christopher & Board President Katrina Turman Lang was held at noon.

We were lucky to have Carrie Tuomala at the tournament to share her story about staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Fargo while her son Mikko was receiving medical care. Carrie & husband Matt stayed at the house off and on for over 9 months as Mikko was in and out of the hospital many times within that period.

Carrie said, “They were our rock when we really needed a comforting place to laugh, cry, fret, and share our story with other families who were going through similar situations… The Ronald McDonald House became our ‘home away from home.’”

The golfers each received a sunscreen lotion sample from Lexli and headed out on a beautiful afternoon. Fun games were held out on the course including a closest to the tire hole sponsored by Luther Family Buick GMC.

 The Ronald McDonald House would like to say THANK YOU to all businesses & individuals who made this year’s event a hit, especially event sponsors – Coca-Cola, Happy Harry’s Bottle Shop, IdeaOne, Mailbox Marketing, Prairie Oral Surgery, Prairie St. John’s, Sam’s Club, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans East Cass Chapter, & WDAY News. Thank you also to our team sponsors, hole & cart sponsors, and hole sponsors!

A special thank you goes out to our awesome Golf Committee: Clay Whittlesey, David Hansen, Gary Thornton, Gregg Matejka, Kent Spriggs, Mark Gemar (Committee Chairperson), Matt Cook, Matt Hornstein, Michael Amundson, and Taylor Cavanagh.

Congratulations to all the raffle winners! This year we raffled off a 55″ LCD LG TV donated by Happy Harry’s Bottle Shop, 2 Weber Grills donated by Nodak, $100 Visa Gift Card donated by Scott & Marty Edwards, & 4 Twins Tickets donated by Lake Region Radio Works.

Mark Gemar - committee Chair & Erica Johnsrud with the Michelin Man

Before working at the Ronald McDonald House I had no idea that the money that I put into the counter change boxes or drive-thru boxes at McDonald’s stayed in the area. The Ronald McDonald House of the Red River Valley works with all the McDonald’s in the Red River Valley to encourage customers to give their spare change to make a huge difference – right here in Fargo!

On July 1st we encourage you to “Join us for 1″ as we promote one of our most significant fundraisers for the Ronald McDonald House – McDonald’s counter change and drive-thru boxes.

Did you know? If  every customer in the U.S. donated a penny every time they visited a McDonald’s throughout the year, Ronald McDonald House Charities could raise more than $62 million for the families that rely on us.

RMHC was inspired by one: one child who needed health care, one family who hoped to stay nearby and one community who came together to build the first Ronald McDonald House.  And now, one person, even just one penny at a time, can make a difference in the lives of children and families. 

Your small change makes a huge difference! Start saving now and bring your change to your local McDonald’s on July 1st!

Have you ever seen over 1,300 motorcycles all in one place – all for one cause?

I hadn’t either… Until last Saturday, June 11th when I stood on Hwy 10 and waved at hundreds and hundreds of motorcycles drive past me and down the road for the Ronald McDonald House RIDE. There was a kind of buzz in the air as more and more participants rolled in and parked wherever they could find a spot at the VFW in New York Mills, MN.

This was my first year witnessing the RIDE but this was the RMH RIDE’s 10th year! The RIDE committee did an absolutely phenomenal job as this well oiled machine went off without a hitch. The day began with a Bike Rodeo where many bicycles were given to children that came to hang out with Ronald McDonald and his friends Hamburglar & Grimace.

Participants had chances to buy raffle tickets, RIDE gear, bid on silent auction items, and get hydrated before they took off from New York Mills at noon on Saturday. When all you see in all directions is motorcycles it makes you feel like maybe you really were born to ride.

Committee member Greg Karvonen welcomed the participants, Ronald McDonald talked about safety, and Jill Christopher, Ronald McDonald House Charities Executive Director, gave words of thanks before the engines were revved and all were ready to hit the road. Highway 10 was shut down for a while as all 1,320 motorcycles headed out with a firetruck escort at the lead. The RIDE made a few stops for goodies along their way with all proceeds benefitting the Ronald McDonald Houses in Fargo. The RIDE collects pop tabs every year as well – an easy way to contribute to the Ronald McDonald House – this year they collected over 6 million pop tabs!!!

Jeff Peterson of West Fargo was the lucky winner of the 2011 Harley-Davidson Road King Classic that was raffled off! Many other participants received some great cash prizes and a drawing was held for a 50th Anniversary Minnesota Vikings guitar!!

The day was topped off with an outdoor concert by TNT, an ACDC cover band. If your adrenaline wasn’t already rolling this band made it boil. What an amazing event to benefit an amazing charity. This year’s RIDE has collected $131,600 with contributions still coming in!

I know that I am already looking for someone that will let me hop on the back of their bike next year. If you didn’t have a chance to check out this year’s RIDE you better get it on your calendar for next year (June 9th, 2012). After getting a chance to attend this event,  I’m convinced everyone was born to ride.

Ronald with Executive Director, Jill Christopher