Anyone who has collected pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House can tell you that it takes a long time to fill up even one of our small collection boxes. That's why it is so incredible that the students at London Elementary School were able to collect 1,116,227 pop tabs in less than one year, thanks to the selfless generosity of Reagyn Semler. Doctors diagnosed Reagyn, a 5th grader at London Elementary, with an aggressive brain tumor last November. Students and teachers at the school asked Reagyn how they could support her in her treatment, and her answer was amazing. She asked the school to collect pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House. Chad Reeser, one of Reagyn's teachers, committed that he would die his hair pink if the students could fill two large tubs with pop tabs. Two tubs became four, and ballooned from there. "From one tab to thousands, the whole community got into it," Reeser said. "It made my world stop many times."   

On Friday, May 13, the students gathered in the gym to celebrate the success of the collection and the inspirational spirit of Reagyn. The room exploded with excitement when they announced that over one million tabs had been collected by the students. It was truly an emotional experience for all in attendance. The selflessness of Reagyn inspired an entire community to come together in support of their classmate and children like her at the Columbus Ronald McDonald House. All of us at Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio wish to thank Reagyn and everyone at London Elementary School for their hard work and dedication to our mission. Your support means the world to us!  

Are you interested in collecting pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House? Contact Allison Cahill for more information at Allison.Cahill@RMHC-CentralOhio.org.  

On Thursday, May 12, performers from  the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus payed guests a special visit at the Ronald McDonald House of Central Ohio. The clowns, dancers, and other entertainers performed for guests, helping to lift the spirits of families staying with us at the House. Performers made the day especially fun by teaching the children and parents how to juggle and dance, and handed out clown noses for the kids. Our thanks go out to the Circus performers for their generosity, as well as Sarah Irvin-Clark for making the performance possible! Pictured here are many of the Circus performers, along with the children and parents who were able to participate. Events like these go a long way toward helping seriously ill children and their families to reduce stress and get a break from the difficult circumstances they are facing.

Do you have a special program idea for the Ronald McDonald House? Contact us at Ryan.Wilkins@RMHC-CentralOhio.org to share your idea today! 

Did you know that the Ronald McDonald House helps the extended family of seriously ill children too? Here is a wonderful note that we recently received from the grandparents of a patient. Thank you for all you do to support these children and families. 

May, 2011

Greetings,

As grandparents who come to help our family with child care, home schooling and various other needs, we feel very welcomed at Ronald McDonald House. An incredibly helpful concept has been made reality here. Staff and volunteers with smiles at the ready are allowing us to focus on the family member in the hospital and the other family members who are experiencing a stressful family health situation. We are thankful to all who make Ronald McDonald House possible!

Sincerely,

Carol & Dennis

Volunteer at

No Such Thing as Small Change 

Almost everyone has at some point dropped a couple coins in the donation box in McDonald's. But did you know that every time you put change in those RMHC Donation Boxes at your Central Ohio McDonald's, you are helping seriously ill children and their families? Next time you are at the counter placing an order, or at the drive-thru window paying for your meal, please remember to drop in your dimes, quarters, dollar bills, or any other spare change. It adds up to help support the mission of Ronald McDonald House Charities right here in Columbus, Ohio.  

This program would not be possible without the generous support of our local McDonald's Owner/Operators and McDonald's corporation in Central Ohio. Our sincerest thanks go out to our partners at McDonald's for their continued support of RMHC through the donation box program. 

Bins Helps Ronald McDonald House With Storage 

The Ronald McDonald House is a very large facility - nearly 80,000 square feet in fact. But even large facilities like ours run in to storage issues from time to time. Recently, we were in need of extra storage space for some items that we do not need for daily use. Fortunately, our friends at Bins stepped in to help. They generously delivered one of their portable storage units to the House. Volunteers worked hard to fill the unit that will be stored by Bins in one of their local storage warehouses. This donation is a tremendous source of support from one of our favorite local businesses. Do  you have storage needs for your home or business? If you are interested in learning more about Bins, visit them at www.gotbins.com for more info. Our thanks go out to Bins for their generous support!