When costs of medicine and treatments soar, the Ronald McDonald House Charities are there to lift the burdens of families with sick children undergoing treatments.
For doTERRA Wellness Advocate Morgan Stoltzfus, serving others is not just what she does but who she is. From the time she was in fifth grade, Morgan was enthusiastic about saving the environment and getting involved in service that would benefit others. When she started applying for colleges, her dad pointed out that she could receive a scholarship for having 200 service hours in high school—hours that she far surpassed. Morgan became the recipient of this honorable scholarship and was excited to continue her copious amounts of service hours in college by volunteering at Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) in Rochester, New York.
RMHC brings families together by providing housing for parents and their families so that they can stay close to their sick child while their child is undergoing treatments at the hospital. The organization believes that when the family is close by, an ill child is able to become happier and healthier through the healing presence of his or her family. The RMHC also believes that even though they “cannot make medicine taste better or take away painful treatments, [they] can help lessen the burden”1 of families during these troubling times.
For many families, the price of medicine and hospital care for a sick child can be financially burdensome and can place unneeded stress and anxiety on these families. But with RMHC, families can experience the relief of receiving food and housing for little to no cost. These houses provide the families of children undergoing treatments with bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, laundry facilities, and meals, along with many other services, giving families a safe place to relax and destress.
Morgan is inspired by the strength of the people in these houses. She enjoys seeing how “all of the people there act as a support system” by comforting each other in their times of need. Through RMHC’s services, their volunteers, and the support systems within the houses, these facilities truly become a “home-away-from-home”2 for struggling families across the globe.
With families close by their sick ones, RMHC has found that the “love and support of family is as powerful as the strongest medicine prescribed.”3 With this in mind, RMHC and their volunteers have worked hard to assist thousands of families with children undergoing treatments, and they are undoubtedly blessing lives.
Visit the Ronald McDonald House Charities or Ronald McDonald House Charities Rochester, NY to learn more or to donate.