by Joao Bicalho
Staff Writer
And counting.
The anniversary is theirs and so is the gift they’ve been giving to those who look for the house in hours of need for the past 20 years. When the Ronald McDonald House opened its doors in 1988, people came. Two decades later, after helping more than TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND families, the house has, indeed, a lot to celebrate.
In fact, they are commemorating their anniversary in Jacksonville with a press conference Nov. 21 as they share the milestone with the entire community.
“Everybody in the community should celebrate with us,” said Joy Hardaker, executive director of the house.
Everybody in the community is involved, she said, because community support has been paramount to the house’s success. From donations to volunteer services, even young children want to help.
“It’s just amazing how people step up and make a difference every day,” said Hardaker.
No matter if an individual steps up to help or the providential hand comes from a company, it is much appreciated. And the levels of involvement are many, she said. Volunteers donate 22,000 hours a year and they rotate in groups of 200 people who will clean, answer the phone, serve meals or help in any way they can.
Companies also help keep the door of the house open. Many have helped in the past and still help today, said Hardaker. All of them are important and their support has been crucial. Vistakon, BlueCross and BlueShield of Florida and Wachovia Bank are just a few that have helped over the years.
“We couldn’t do without them and we hope all will celebrate with us in November,” said Hardaker. “And be proud.”
Fourteen years ago, the house opened the doors to its present location near Wolfson Children’s Hospital with 10 bedrooms and a very limited number of staff. At the time, the house served an average of 300 families a year, she said.
“Now the number is 1,000 (a year) and we have 30 bedrooms,” said Hardaker. “We’ve grown up.”
Growth has not changed the atmosphere of the house. The main goal is to give support and temporary lodging to critically-ill and seriously-injured children and their families.
“You go to work and people thank you all day long for doing your job,” said Hardaker. “It’s been a lot of fun. We’ve come such a long way.”
She shared the stories of the house with compassion. The stories of families the house has served are endless and very personal to Hardaker.
When she was asked about a particular story that really touched her, she was only concerned with time.
“Do you have two or three days for this interview?” said Hardaker.
She recalled the story of a couple who had been on vacation and ended up facing the unexpected. The wife, pregnant, boarded a flight from Miami to Chicago and started delivering her baby, prematurely, in the middle of the flight. The pilot was informed by a doctor on board that the mother-to-be needed to go to a hospital immediately so the pilot landed the plane in Jacksonville.
The baby was born prematurely at 26 weeks, she said.
“They had nothing,” said Hardaker. “No car, no suitcase, no support. We were their home and their family.”
The house keeps family members together and together they heal, she said.
“They are allowed to be together here,” said Hardaker.
The house is licensed by McDonald’s and the owners of the restaurant chain are “genuinely involved and proud of the success” of the house, she said. However, there is no financial tie.
“Our budget is not paid by McDonald’s,” said Hardaker.
Community support comes to the rescue. Again.
Even children help by collecting aluminum pop tops and selling them to be recycled, she said. Those tabs are responsible for $6,000 a year in the budget.
“A lot of people think about us,” said Hardaker.
Children who help are also the ones helped.
Seventy percent of children and their families who attend the house are from Florida, she said. The house has already serviced families from all over the country as well as Venezuela, Cambodia and Afghanistan.
Children worldwide are coming to Jacksonville to get cancer treatment at the Proton Beam Therapy Institute at Shands, she said.
“It helps them see that other people are going through the same thing,” said Hardaker.
The house has a wish list on-line and the community has shown support as they become aware of what the house does and what its mission means, she said.
The best way to define it?
“It’s a home,” said Hardaker. “It’s not just an office.”
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