Ronald McDonald House (RMH) - Contact Summary (JB)

The following is a summary of the initial contact with Ronald McDonald House (RMH) facilitated by Jerry Birk:
Date of Contact: 2-1-08
Contact: Katie Dahill, Volunteer Coordinator, Katie@rmhtwincities.org , (612) 767-2787.
Summary: Katie was pleased that the MHA group had considered RMH as a recipient of our volunteer efforts. Several volunteering capacities were identified, but those which were most suitable for our efforts related to group (10 people max) events at an RMH House. These events may be based on either "Fun & Food", "Lend-a-Hand", and "Community Support". For a detailed list, please see the RMH Opportunities for Groups document listed as a link on the Blog Space.

2 Projects which may be most convenient to immediately arrange are:
Household Projects - Routine household tasks are arranged for a group during the week for a 2-3 hour shift. This type of event can be made for a single day, or scheduled for a regular monthly or quarterly basis. (Tasks such as cleaning, yard work, holiday decorating, etc.)

Meal Projects - A calendar is made identifying available meal dates during the week or weekend. Due to its popularity, dates are quickly filled. Essentially, a group is expected to prepare a weekday dinner for approximately 100 people served at 5:30 pm, or a weekend brunch for 65 people served at 11:30 Sat or Sun. As an alternative, groups may also prepare Birthday Party events held once per month. Meal preparation includes purchasing food supplies, cooking, setting up buffet service and cleaning up. Cost estimates for this type of dinner are $200-300.

Several different opportunities based on Community Support exist such as: Drives and Campaigns (collecting items such as Laundry Supplies, Kids Videos, Paper Products, etc.), Breakfast Bags, Pop Tab Collecting, Donation Drives and Fundraisers. Please see the RMH Opportunities for Groups document for details.

Next Steps: Select a meal or household event and contact Katie.
Barriers/Issues/Other Comments: This would be a good opportunity to get something rolling right away. Discuss use of Class Funds for funding meal events.