I just walked into the House to find the living room overtaken by a group of middle school boys who are being educated on the Ronald McDonald House by Sarah. I'm amazed because I don't think I've ever seen a group so excited to learn about the House. Every single one of them has asked at least one question.
Awesome.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Ronald McDonald = Rock Star
The stage was set.
Tears were shed.
The crowds were restless as they waited for his arrival.
And then, he showed up, big red shoes and all.
The children of Joseph-Beth rushed Ronald McDonald as he entered the scene, disbelief at the realization that the character on their McDonald's Happy Meal boxes was, in fact, a living and breathing entity. If you don't believe me, I would like to present Exhibit A:
The guy was like a modern day rock star. Not even Miley Cyrus would have elicited this reaction with this crowd. [Thank goodness they're too young for Miley.] Ronald hung around, made valentines, and read stories to the kids, passing out many stickers, magazines and smiles until it was nap time. A few strong ones stuck around for the encore performance of more magic tricks and pictures, all leaving completely satisfied.
All this to say, the valentine's making event at Joseph-Beth was a huge success. Not to mention, a ton of fun!
Now if only we had made some t-shirts, we could have made a profit...
Here are some more pictures for your rocking pleasure:
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Day 8 :: McTours & Conquering Facebook
Have you ever been to the races at Keeneland? You put on your cutest seersucker sundress, find the best seats that throwing elbows [politely, of course - we are in the South, after all] can find, and anxiously await that moment. You know the exact moment I'm talking about. That feverish moment when the crowd grows quiet in anticipation and the horses stomp their feet restlessly - the calm before the storm.
And then the gun is fired and pandemonium ensues.
Well, at Ronald McDonald House, consider the gun fired because we are off and running! And I'm excited to say that I'm no longer the only racehorse - ahem - intern. I'm now being joined by Erin, who will be mostly working with Debbie, and Marla, who will be Travis's pupil. I had the privilege of meeting them both yesterday morning for our McTour with Sarah. Yes, that's right - a McTour. [You can giggle a little at it if you want. I did.] In case you're wondering, a McTour consists of a full fledged tour of the House, from the main living room to the kitchen to that creepy storage room upstairs that requires you to shove the door open as much as possible before making a mad dash in the dark across the room to the light switch. I don't know whose idea it was to put the light switch out of arm's length from the door, but it wasn't a very good one. In the case that you don't make it to the light switch before the door shuts, then you have to just try to stay on your course, hoping you were going in the right direction. Conveniently, all the public relations materials are in this storage room, which I'm sure [knowing me] will pave the way for some hilarious stories of mishap down the road. Anyways, the tour did not include a mad dash for the light switch and all went according to plan. At the end of the tour we all sat down and went over our duties for the semester and talked about areas we would be overlapping in and how we could work together. After four weeks of being the only intern, I'm pretty excited to have some other people on board, too.
One thing I'm looking forward to is the upcoming event at Joseph-Beth next Saturday, which also happens to be Valentine's Day. Ronald McDonald will be there entertaining and I'll be running a booth where we'll have materials for families to make valentines for children in the critical care unit of Kentucky Children's Hospital. I'm in charge of making some mock valentines and preparing all the materials needed to make said valentines. This means cutting out a few hundred construction paper hearts, rationing glue use, and making sure kids don't ingest the glitter. I knew all those years of tutoring my mom's second graders would come in handy! In any case, I'm not a huge fan of Valentine's Day, but I have a feeling this may be the best one yet. We'll just have to see.
The most exciting part about Friday though was finally beating Facebook at its own game. For weeks now, Sarah and I have been wondering how to get a page on Facebook where members can make donations and for weeks we've come up with no answers. Until yesterday. Trying to find out how to get a causes page on Facebook is next to impossible because they hide it VERY well. But after many link clickings and wondering if Facebook has a phone number [?], I finally stumbled upon the page that allowed me to apply for a causes page. Moments after applying, RMHC of the Bluegrass got accepted and will soon be accepting donations and such online! That sounds extremely nerdy, I'm sure, but when the organization you're working for/supporting runs solely on donations, this is a big deal. In light of this, I'm assuming that a good deal of my time on Wednesday will be spent setting up that page and getting it running...much to Facebook's chagrin. [Insert semi-evil yet victorious laugh here.]
Well, it's 9.30 on a Saturday night and I have big plans with my Campaigns book and a movie and I don't want to be late! So many things to do and so little time in which to do them. I may not be wearing a seersucker dress, but the race is certainly on! :)
Until next time,
Sara Jane
And then the gun is fired and pandemonium ensues.
Well, at Ronald McDonald House, consider the gun fired because we are off and running! And I'm excited to say that I'm no longer the only racehorse - ahem - intern. I'm now being joined by Erin, who will be mostly working with Debbie, and Marla, who will be Travis's pupil. I had the privilege of meeting them both yesterday morning for our McTour with Sarah. Yes, that's right - a McTour. [You can giggle a little at it if you want. I did.] In case you're wondering, a McTour consists of a full fledged tour of the House, from the main living room to the kitchen to that creepy storage room upstairs that requires you to shove the door open as much as possible before making a mad dash in the dark across the room to the light switch. I don't know whose idea it was to put the light switch out of arm's length from the door, but it wasn't a very good one. In the case that you don't make it to the light switch before the door shuts, then you have to just try to stay on your course, hoping you were going in the right direction. Conveniently, all the public relations materials are in this storage room, which I'm sure [knowing me] will pave the way for some hilarious stories of mishap down the road. Anyways, the tour did not include a mad dash for the light switch and all went according to plan. At the end of the tour we all sat down and went over our duties for the semester and talked about areas we would be overlapping in and how we could work together. After four weeks of being the only intern, I'm pretty excited to have some other people on board, too.
One thing I'm looking forward to is the upcoming event at Joseph-Beth next Saturday, which also happens to be Valentine's Day. Ronald McDonald will be there entertaining and I'll be running a booth where we'll have materials for families to make valentines for children in the critical care unit of Kentucky Children's Hospital. I'm in charge of making some mock valentines and preparing all the materials needed to make said valentines. This means cutting out a few hundred construction paper hearts, rationing glue use, and making sure kids don't ingest the glitter. I knew all those years of tutoring my mom's second graders would come in handy! In any case, I'm not a huge fan of Valentine's Day, but I have a feeling this may be the best one yet. We'll just have to see.
The most exciting part about Friday though was finally beating Facebook at its own game. For weeks now, Sarah and I have been wondering how to get a page on Facebook where members can make donations and for weeks we've come up with no answers. Until yesterday. Trying to find out how to get a causes page on Facebook is next to impossible because they hide it VERY well. But after many link clickings and wondering if Facebook has a phone number [?], I finally stumbled upon the page that allowed me to apply for a causes page. Moments after applying, RMHC of the Bluegrass got accepted and will soon be accepting donations and such online! That sounds extremely nerdy, I'm sure, but when the organization you're working for/supporting runs solely on donations, this is a big deal. In light of this, I'm assuming that a good deal of my time on Wednesday will be spent setting up that page and getting it running...much to Facebook's chagrin. [Insert semi-evil yet victorious laugh here.]
Well, it's 9.30 on a Saturday night and I have big plans with my Campaigns book and a movie and I don't want to be late! So many things to do and so little time in which to do them. I may not be wearing a seersucker dress, but the race is certainly on! :)
Until next time,
Sara Jane
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Days 3,4,5,6,7 :: Caution: Intern Black Hole!
Whoa. Where did the last two weeks just go?
I feel as though I fell asleep and had wild dreams involving snow, no power, and a pile of school work that mimicked the mounds of snow that was EVERYWHERE, only to awake and find that that dream had actually been my life.
So, that is where I have been the last two weeks, and I'm glad to report I have emerged successfully. [Well, almost. The mounds of school work seem to only grow...] Here's a quick catch-up, Weekend Update style!
Two weeks ago found me in the House, doing mostly organizational things that wouldn't sound too exciting if I wrote about them here. You'd probably just stop reading, so I'll spare you the details and say it involved e-updates and learning to use new software. [Day 3] However, at the end of that week [23 January, Day 4], I got to go on a field trip to the children's hospital to see the new Ronald McDonald Family Room! The room had just opened a few days earlier and it looked FANTASTIC. It was clean and bright, filled with vibrant colors and felt really comfortable. We didn't stay long so as to not disturb the people who were relaxing in there, but it was great to see the room as more than just empty floorboards and piles of dust. [Like the last time I saw it.] We got to talk to one of the volunteers who was getting ready to be interviewed by the Herald-Leader about the room and the volunteers who give up their time to be there. She was nervous, but excited to share her story. The H-L didn't disappoint and put out a great article that following Monday. You can read the article here.
The following week was a whirlwind -- like awaking to find you're in an inverted Oz -- a world of white. The week of the snowstorm hit hard, taking out all of the House's power, leaving no phone, washer, or microwave untouched. Sarah called me that Wednesday and told me not to come in because there was no power. [Day 5. Classes had been cancelled for the day at UK, so I got a legit snow day! Forgot how much I love those.] But I was surprised to find upon my arrival to the House on Friday [Day 6] that it was still without power, leaving the families in the dark and cold. I walked in and was immediately greeted by Travis who was running around like a crazy man, trying to make sure everyone and everything was taken care of. [That man is a trooper, by the way, working 14 hour days during all that bad weather. Trooper.]
Evidence in posted picture.
Luckily, we were able to dig out of the snow and it was back to normal yesterday. [Day 7] It was great to be back in the House and getting stuff done! Yesterday was a day of catch up and new projects. Example: on Valentine's Day, 14 February, Ronald McDonald will be at Joseph-Beth making valentines for sick children at the Ketucky Children's Hospital, and I get to join him there for the day! In lieu of this, I get to design mock valentines for the kids to mimic AND get to be there to help them make the cards. This could seriously be the best Valentine's Day I've ever had. [Although, not many would consider this a big feat.] So, come out and make valentine's with us! We'll be there from 11am to 12pm...it would make my Valentine's Day if you showed up! OH -- and the best part -- that day, if you come spend money at Joseph-Beth, they'll make a donation from each purchase to the Ronald McDonald Family Room! So, even if you don't want to make valentines, come buy something and you''ll still be doing something good!
Well, now that I'm back and you know I'm okay, I'm going to go to bed. Loooooong day ahead of me tomorrow, but expect to hear from me.
Until then,
Sara Jane
I feel as though I fell asleep and had wild dreams involving snow, no power, and a pile of school work that mimicked the mounds of snow that was EVERYWHERE, only to awake and find that that dream had actually been my life.
So, that is where I have been the last two weeks, and I'm glad to report I have emerged successfully. [Well, almost. The mounds of school work seem to only grow...] Here's a quick catch-up, Weekend Update style!
Two weeks ago found me in the House, doing mostly organizational things that wouldn't sound too exciting if I wrote about them here. You'd probably just stop reading, so I'll spare you the details and say it involved e-updates and learning to use new software. [Day 3] However, at the end of that week [23 January, Day 4], I got to go on a field trip to the children's hospital to see the new Ronald McDonald Family Room! The room had just opened a few days earlier and it looked FANTASTIC. It was clean and bright, filled with vibrant colors and felt really comfortable. We didn't stay long so as to not disturb the people who were relaxing in there, but it was great to see the room as more than just empty floorboards and piles of dust. [Like the last time I saw it.] We got to talk to one of the volunteers who was getting ready to be interviewed by the Herald-Leader about the room and the volunteers who give up their time to be there. She was nervous, but excited to share her story. The H-L didn't disappoint and put out a great article that following Monday. You can read the article here.
The following week was a whirlwind -- like awaking to find you're in an inverted Oz -- a world of white. The week of the snowstorm hit hard, taking out all of the House's power, leaving no phone, washer, or microwave untouched. Sarah called me that Wednesday and told me not to come in because there was no power. [Day 5. Classes had been cancelled for the day at UK, so I got a legit snow day! Forgot how much I love those.] But I was surprised to find upon my arrival to the House on Friday [Day 6] that it was still without power, leaving the families in the dark and cold. I walked in and was immediately greeted by Travis who was running around like a crazy man, trying to make sure everyone and everything was taken care of. [That man is a trooper, by the way, working 14 hour days during all that bad weather. Trooper.]Evidence in posted picture.
Luckily, we were able to dig out of the snow and it was back to normal yesterday. [Day 7] It was great to be back in the House and getting stuff done! Yesterday was a day of catch up and new projects. Example: on Valentine's Day, 14 February, Ronald McDonald will be at Joseph-Beth making valentines for sick children at the Ketucky Children's Hospital, and I get to join him there for the day! In lieu of this, I get to design mock valentines for the kids to mimic AND get to be there to help them make the cards. This could seriously be the best Valentine's Day I've ever had. [Although, not many would consider this a big feat.] So, come out and make valentine's with us! We'll be there from 11am to 12pm...it would make my Valentine's Day if you showed up! OH -- and the best part -- that day, if you come spend money at Joseph-Beth, they'll make a donation from each purchase to the Ronald McDonald Family Room! So, even if you don't want to make valentines, come buy something and you''ll still be doing something good!
Well, now that I'm back and you know I'm okay, I'm going to go to bed. Loooooong day ahead of me tomorrow, but expect to hear from me.
Until then,
Sara Jane
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
