This Giving Tuesday, time, goods, or a gift could help keep families close when it matters most.
The Ronald McDonald House of Tallahassee provides free lodging and support to families from children in local hospitals and to adoptive families in need. They don’t just rely on monetary donations. Volunteers and household items make an immediate, tangible difference for families focused on their children. Watch the video to see one family’s story and how community donations made her stay a success. Ronald McDonald House seeks support this Giving Tuesday
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Every year, hundreds of families stay at the Ronald McDonald House of Tallahassee, often in the middle of a medical crisis.
For parents and children, the holidays are a time of fear and uncertainty.
This Giving Tuesday, your donation can help remind a family that they’re not facing their struggle alone.
You may have driven past the small house on 7th Avenuethe Ronald McDonald Houseand wondered what happens inside.
It’s more than a building. It’s a quiet refuge for families whose lives have been suddenly turned around. Like Felicia Suggs, you might assume it’s only for the most severe medical cases.
“I knew that you could stay there if your kids were sick, that kind of thing. But I was thinking it was more if there was, like, more traumatic, like emergency type things, like your baby’s in the NICU,” Suggs said.
In November 2024, Suggs and her family got the call no parent wants: her daughter needed treatment in Tallahassee.
They had a solution for her health and a new problem: a long trip from Milton, Florida, a split family, and a new town with nowhere to stay. But then the Ronald McDonald House stepped in.
“It was really nice to have somewhere to call home, even though you weren’t at home. And then on the weekends, the kids would come up, because we have other children,” Suggs said.
The Ronald McDonald House provides free short term lodging to families with children in local hospitals and supports adoptive families as well, all made possible by community donations.
The donations from the community help the house provide shelter, food, toys, and essential items families otherwise would not have the funds to pay for due to medical bills.
“She wouldn’t have been able to get the care that she needed, just for one like insurance deductibles that you have to pay for your child to be in the hospital and outpatient procedures that have to be done. Tthat’s where all of our money, you know, goes to at that time,” Suggs said.
For families arriving with nothing but hope, donations of time, household items, or money can turn an unexpected hotel stay into a home.
Giving Tuesday, a nationwide movement to spotlight and support local nonprofits is a chance for the Ronald McDonald House to show the community exactly how to help families like the Suggs.
“We’re a big house, so anything that you use in the running of your house every day, we use the same thing, but we probably use about 10 times as much. Anything that you would use in your own home, we use, and we need,” Gini West, the Ronald McDonald of Tallahassee President and CEO, said.
Your gift could allow families to come right here and enjoy a home cooked meal, a warm room, and comfort in an uncomfortable situation.
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