Help Families At Ronald McDonald Houses Around Tampa Bay During The Holidays

Ronald McDonald Houses are a home away from home for pediatric families.

If we can put our heads on our pillows at night with the feeling that our children are safe and healthy, boy, are we blessed. That's not the case for many families. As a parent, when you are coping with the news that your child has a life-threatening illness, it can be difficult just trying to function every day.

Thank goodness for the kindness of the folks who work at the Ronald McDonald Houses and for those who donate their time and resources to the Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Families want to stay together during the holidays and especially during challenging times related to health issues. Some of the children whose families are staying at the Ronald McDonald Houses around the Tampa Bay area dealing with cancer, autoimmune disorders, heart or lung failure, rare genetic disorders. Imagine not having a place to stay during your child's treatment, sleeping on uncomfortable hospital sofas, surviving on vending machine snacks.

Give the gift of togetherness this holiday season. Your gift provides families with a home away from home, a good night's sleep, and nutritious meals, allowing them to focus on their child's health.

RMHC supports families in various ways. Providing a hot meal, a comfortable room, assistance with laundry, or providing a simple toothbrush for both children and parents.

If you'd like to help a family and make a meaningful difference in a child's life today, donating $100 can provide one night's stay at Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Visit the donation page to contribute: rmhctampabay.org/donate

Thank you!

The holidays are here which means it's time to start gift and grocery shopping, and also start thinking about donations. This is a difficult time of year for many families. With the constant rise in the cost of living, the demand for donations has grown exponentially. A lot of organizations, including Metropolitan Ministries, have already opened their annual holiday food drives for those who are struggling. But often people will donate goods to food banks without thinking of the common items needed to cook that meal. If you plan on donating this year, maybe include one or more of these items in your donations.

Every year, Metropolitan Ministries provides holiday meals to thousands of families in need. This year, they're seeing record demand for requests for Thanksgiving meals even as donations are down by 30%. WTSP says that includes a 15% increase in the number of seniors on a fixed income and a 70% increase in people looking for help to stay in their homes and avoid getting evicted.

Lots of people in the Tampa area are already willing to help. WWE star Titus O'Neil is donating $50,000, which will supply about 1,000 meals. Metropolitan Ministries will have about half a dozen tents set up at locations throughout Hillsborough and Pasco counties. The food drives will stay open through Christmas Eve. Click here to find out how you can get involved.

Metropolitan Ministries has a list of items needed in their holiday store. One of the most needed items is a frozen turkey. Other highly requested items are canned veggies, peanut butter, cereal, ham, and gravy. While donating these items is great, it may be missing some common items that are needed to prepare the meal.

One of the most commonly donated items to food banks is box mac & cheese. However, they can rarely use it because they need milk & butter, which is often forgotten/hard to find at food banks. Boxed milk is a great item to donate because it can be used for cereal, which is a highly requested item and often donated.

Seems kind of obvious. But families might not be able to enjoy those canned veggies unless you also donate a can opener, or donate pop-tops.

Oil is needed to cook many donated items, including boxed meals like Rice-a-Roni. However, oil is not commonly donated to food banks.

Eggs are a real commodity. Especially if you are donating boxed desserts like brownies. Bonus if you also donate frosting to help make a kids birthday special!

Dishwashing Detergent is often forgotten about when donating. It's very expensive and is always appreciated.

I had a great conversation with Lisa Supernaud, CEO of Ronald McDonald House Charities. You can hear below.