The Most Wonderful Place on Earth

            My family was lucky to live in a city with one of the top children’s hospitals in it when my little sister was born premature and so ill.  Not everyone has this luxury; many find out that their child is in desperate need of medical care that can only be provided in a state – or country – that seems impossibly far away when a son or daughter is sick.  Looking at the guest registry board hanging in the foyer of the Ronald McDonald House it is easy to see the mix of culture housed under one roof.  There are families from every corner of the earth it seems, all here together because they would do anything for their children.  The Ronald McDonald House is a home where families from out of state (or country) can stay while their child is in the hospital, and unlike a hotel, they simply pay what they can.  The average stay at the House is seventeen days, but some families will reside there for more than a year.  I am a volunteer there, and I love the roles I take on once a week, because I get to contribute to what I believe is the most wonderful place on earth.                    

            The majority of the time I spend at the Ronald McDonald House is spent cleaning.  I work on a team with two other girls, and we move quickly between playrooms, family rooms, kitchens, eating spaces, and other communal areas, armed with cans of Lysol and large tubs of Clorox wipes.  With immune-suppressed children and their families living in the House, cleanliness is a top priority.  Our small team of three has become a trio working in perfect harmony when it comes to cleaning a room.  We are efficient, and we each have our roles.  In the playroom the youngest girl sprays a heavy coat of Lysol over the ever-grimy toys before moving onto the door knobs and TV remotes, I Clorox wipe the leather La Z Boy furniture while the older girl dusts every surface and cleans the fingerprints from the windows.  In the kitchen we resort to our trusted Clorox wipes, one person diligently scrubbing tables, while another does chairs, as the last vigorously cleans the counters.  While it sounds like a rather boring job, when you know that you are doing it for the good of others, it gives you a great feeling inside.

             One of the most enjoyable parts of my time as a volunteer is when I get to socialize with the families.  This is the rest of my evening, when it fits in around the schedule of things that need to get done (and with a few hundred people living in the house the list of things to be done is never short.)  It often starts simply by saying “hello” and offering a helping hand to every guest you see.  This can lead to a number of things, from running errands for them, to loading luggage carts, or most frequently, saying you have no idea, and relaying their request to a volunteer who knows more than you.  Other times the other girls and I will wander into the playroom adjoining the main kitchen, where many parents leave their children while they make dinner.  I have been a babysitter for almost six years and I automatically assume that role, monitoring where the kids are and making sure no one escapes down the hall away from the kitchen and dining room.  Entertaining kids just comes with the deal, and I can quickly get a group of children of all different ages, speaking multiple languages, seated in a circle building with blocks together. 

            I spend the least amount of time working behind the desk, and technically I’m not actually working, because that requires considerably more training than I have.  Still, as I wait for my shift to start in the office area, I am often given a task to complete, albeit never something quite like answering the phones or working the highly confusing camera system, but the supervisors always find some way to put me to work.  Usually this involves running books that were found strewn throughout the house back to the library, checking out DVDs for families, waiting by the doors and letting in the other volunteers so we don’t have to listen to the alarm system going off every two seconds, or relaying messages between the kitchen and the front desk. While it may not be my actual job, I enjoy getting to be behind the desk, with the administrative volunteers.  The way the families smile at them each time they pass, never fails to make me feel as if I am doing something important.

            When I first was accepted into the Ronald McDonald House teen volunteering program I was nervous, the House was huge and I have the sense of direction of a spoon, and I wasn't sure if I was cut out for volunteering somewhere so official.  Now I know how lucky I am to have been chosen, and how wrong I was when I had my doubts.  I look forward all week to my time at the Ronald McDonald House, and know that no matter how it’s divided it will be wonderful.