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Help Ryan raise money

For participating in RIDE-4-RONALD 2017

My Story…

As many of you know and some of you do not know Jessica and I stayed at the Ronald McDonald House in Portland Maine a little over 13 years ago. We were young and having our first child. Jessica had complications and had to have surgery in her second trimester and the stress caused her to have Rachael at 32 weeks. The hospital near us could not handle the birth and Jessica was raced to Portland Maine, a little over an hour and a half from where we lived. I was scared trying to keep up with the ambulance and did not know what was to come. When I arrived at the hospital the nurses asked where I was staying and said I could not stay in the hospital. I told them I was going to get a hotel and the explained there were not any close to the hospital and they told me about the RMH. I only knew of it from the drive up window at McDonalds. I had many misconceptions of how the houses were paid for, maintained and who they were for. The lovely nurse explained to me that it is a home close to the hospital where parents of sick children can stay for free until their child is healthy enough to go home. She explained that after Jessica is released from the hospital she would be able to join me. What I realized was that this was so much more than a place to stay. It really was a home. So many people came to the house to volunteer. People would bring food, cook for us and the support of the volunteers at the home and the other parents in a similar situation was more help then I could ever explain. Looking back on it I cannot imagine staying at a hotel by myself thinking about the worse or driving late at night and being so far away from my wife and daughter. The RMH made a huge difference in my life and I will never be able to repay the RMH Charities. I am so fortunate to live with-in walking distance to a RMH here in Lake Nona and I am so fortunate to have met The Nona Brew Crew. I have volunteered and cooked at the home and I am on a Committee at the RMH. The Nona Brew Crew has a team that rides for Ronald and they have a goal of raising $10,000. Because of my experience with he RMH and my love for this charity I want to make sure they beat this goal. Please help me raise money towards this goal and let's make a difference in another family's lives. When your child is sick and you need a place to stay, emotional support and need as much help as you can get the RMH will be there for you just like they were for us. When Jessica and I left the RMH we made a nice donation and they put two bricks in the court yard with Rachael's info. I brought her there when she was old enough to understand and I was able to explain to her how the RMH helped mom and dad get through what was the toughest thing we ever faced. Please make a donation and help me raise money.

Description

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Florida finds, creates, and supports programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children and families.

Our cornerstone program, the Ronald McDonald House, provides a home away from home for families with children receiving treatment at hospitals and medical facilities in Orlando. Before the Ronald McDonald Houses, parents were sleeping in their cars or in chairs in the waiting room, eating out of vending machines, or bearing the expense of impersonal hotel rooms.

There are three Ronald McDonald Houses in Orlando - one on the campus of Arnold Palmer Medical Center, one on the campus of Florida Hospital for Children, and one on the campus of Nemours Children's Hospital. Each year, about 2,000 families stay with us to be close to their critically ill children.

Recent donors

Donation date Donor name Donation amount
Oct 14 Lawrence Lanos $100.00
Oct 14 Tom Moscato U-DA-MAN - great job and we appreciate what you're doing! - Tom & Sonja $50.00
Oct 14 Bob and Darlene McWhirter $50.00
Oct 14 Amanda Donovan Undisclosed amount
Oct 14 Jessica Oliveria $25.00
Oct 14 Jeffrey Amorim Undisclosed amount
Oct 14 Kathy Watts Go Ryan! Hope you make you goal & have a great ride! $25.00
Oct 13 Crystal Somerset Undisclosed amount
Oct 03 Nona Title, Inc. Good Luck...Great guy and good cause! $100.00
Sep 02 Deborah Fisk $25.00