Keeping Families Close: April 2018

April 2018

Keeping Families Close

Mission Moment: Birthday Fun!

As a "home-away-from-home," we love celebrating birthdays! Tia (top left) and Kali (top right) are pictured above celebrating Kali's 2nd birthday. These kiddos enjoyed yummy cupcakes, blowing bubbles and check out those nifty pink sunglasses!

A Message from our CEO


Rosemary Study (far left) and Michelle Study-Campbell, CEO of RMHCCIN, share a rose and smiles with Ben Higgins at #Blingo2018!

Can you believe we are already in our last few days of April? The sun is finally peeking out, the temperatures are slowly rising and I think (hope!) that we're finally done with the snow!

Spring also means busy months ahead for the Ronald McDonald House! Just last week, nearly 130 friends and supporters joined us at The Hatch for our sold-out Blingo event presented by Indiana Members Credit Union, featuring special guest Ben Higgins on ABC's The Bachelor! Donuts were eaten, jewelry was won, fun was had and, most importantly, funds were raised to keep our families together during their greatest time of need. A big thank you to all who attended, experience providers and our sponsors, including Indiana Members Credit Union, Kendra Scott and Barnes and Thornburg, LLC. If you were an attendee who purchased a bag from our bag pull, keep your eyes tuned to your inbox. Your photos will be e-mailed out soon!

April is also National Volunteer Month and here at the House we have been making sure to recognize our wonderful and dedicated volunteer force every chance we get! Volunteers are truly the heart of our House and we could not keep families together without them. Be sure to read below to hear directly from some of our volunteers about their involvement, their commitment and what keeping families together means to them.

Until next time!

RSM US LLP Adopt a Room Spotlight Header

The Adopt-a-Room program is a year-long sponsorship of a room or continuing care apartment at our Limestone and Riley Houses. The program provides families with much more than just a roof over their heads -- it helps to provide support, home-cooked meals and relief from their stressful situations. Most importantly, room partners are helping families focus on what matters most -- their seriously-ill or injured child.

RSM US LLP is our Adopt-a-Room Partner of the Month. Their team raised money that was matched by the RSM Foundation, resulting in their first apartment sponsorship. The most popular activity was putting loose change in each supervisor's collection jar. The supervisor with the highest total was rewarded by getting a pie in the face. The competition was fierce as supervisors sneaked money into someone else's jar to avoid that pie. Congratulations to the "Pie The Boss in the Face" winner and thank you for keeping families together and near the care they need!

"We enjoy it all, it's very rewarding. It's the people and the families that you help. When they come in here, their minds aren't on this House, their minds are on their babies or children. Our job is to ease their way as they come in here and try to make it just a little bit easier. It doesn't take away the worry but it's one less frustration that they have to deal with. " - Tom & Jeri Shipp, GSVs @ Riley

Throughout the month of April we have been celebrating the heart of our House, our volunteers, in honor of National Volunteer Month! We have featured a few of our wonderful volunteers, the amazing work they do and the difference they make across all of our social media platforms. Check out a few of our features below and thank you again to our amazing volunteers!

Want to know how you can join our RMHCCIN family? Our next volunteer orientation is Thursday, May 3! Contact Volunteer Resources Manager, Mary Friend, at [email protected] or at (317) 267-0605 ext. 225 for more information!

Fun Fact #3: Did you know over 850 meals are served annually at our House?


Sometimes even our families like to give back and help out in the kitchen! Houseguest Gene recently prepared a delicious chicken cordon bleu dinner for the rest of our families!

We pride ourselves on being a "home-away-from-home" for our families and one thing that helps make that a reality is being able to provide a warm, home-cooked meal every day. None of this would be possible without our amazing meal groups and freezer meal service groups.

When a meal group isn't signed up, or they have to cancel, the freezer meals our service groups prepare are popped into the oven so we can still provide our families with that warm, home-cooked meal. These meals vary from casseroles to pasta bakes, all equally yummy! And in honor of #NationalVolunteerMonth, we would like to extend an extra THANK YOU to our volunteers. Thank you for making our House a home. Want to learn how you can get involved? Visit our website: http://bit.ly/rmhccinvolunteer

Community Events

DC Comics Super Hero Night with the Indianapolis Indians

What: Super Her Night @ Indianapolis Indians

Where: Victory Field
When: Saturday, May 12 @ 7:05 p.m.

Don't miss your chance to meet DC Comics legends, Superman and Wonder Woman, at the PNC Plaza before and during the Indians v. Clippers game on Saturday, May 12!

Indians players will be wearing specialty jerseys during the game which will be auctioned off to benefit RMHCCIN families!

Walk, Run, Stroll: Heroes for the House 5K is Saturday, June 16!

Calling all superheroes! Grab your running shoes, assemble a team and make your way to the NCAA Hall of Champions for IREM Indy's 12th Annual Heroes for the House 5K event on Saturday, June 16!

Suitable for heroes of all ages, the event features a dog-friendly and stroller-friendly course, cash prizes, a "Rookie Run" for heroes-in-training (ages 2-10), post-race pizza party, games and more -- all while raising money for the House!

For more information or to register, please visit heroesforthehouse.org.

Around the House: Family Activities!

Houseguest and Riley patient, Trinity, poses with her completed acrylic pouring project.

Families came together to make healthy (and tasty!) snacks including caterpillar fruit kabobs, teddy bear toast and ants on a log!

An important part of our mission is providing families moments to just be together.

This month, our families had the opportunity to enjoy some family time through several activities including art therapy and making kid-friendly snacks together!

Donating your time and talent to the Ronald McDonald House can be a rewarding experience and a real gift to the families staying at the House. Whether you are looking for an ongoing commitment or want to share a special gift or talent on a short-term basis, there is a way for you to make a difference at Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Indiana! Current needs include but are not limited to:

May Meal Groups Needed!

We are in need of meal groups for both our House at Limestone (located on the IUPUI campus) and our House located inside Riley. RMHCCIN welcomes meal groups on a one-time or reoccurring basis. Additional dinner dates and meal group guidelines can be found here .

Limestone Dinner Dates:

Riley Lunch Dates:

Riley Dinner Dates:

Wed. 5/2
Fri. 5/4
Sat. 5/5
Mon. 5/7
Sun. 5/13
Tues. 5/15
Wed. 5/16
Fri. 5/18
Sat. 5/26
Mon. 5/28
Tues. 5/29
Fri. 6/1

Limestone Breakfast Dates:

Tues. 5/1
Thurs. 5/3
Tues. 5/8
Wed. 5/9
Fri. 5/11
Mon. 5/14
Tues. 5/15
Wed. 5/16
Thurs. 5/17
Fri. 5.18
Mon. 5/21 - Thurs. 5/31

Tues. 5/1
Wed. 5/2
Sun. 5/6
Mon. 5/7
Thurs. 5/10
Fri. 5/11
Mon. 5/14
Tues. 5/15
Wed. 5/16
Thurs. 5/17
Fri. 5/18
Sat. 5/19
Sun. 5/20
Mon. 5/21
Tues. 5/22
Wed. 5/23
Thurs. 5/24
Fri. 5/25
Sat. 5/26
Sun. 5/27
Tues. 5/29
Wed. 5/30
Thurs. 5/31
Fri. 6/1

Tues. 5/1
Wed. 5/2
Fri. 5/4
Mon. 5/7
Tues. 5/8
Wed. 5/9
Sun. 5/13
Wed. 5/16
Fri. 5/18
Mon. 5/21
Tues. 5/22
Wed. 5/23
Thurs. 5/24
Sun. 5/27
Tues. 5/29
Wed. 5/30
Fri. 6/1

Interested? Please contact Marci Corbin, Family Experience Coordinator, at [email protected] or at (317) 267-0605, ext. 210 or visit our website for additional opportunities and information.

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