Imagine you’re sitting in class when you get a text from your mom that says, “Call me, it’s important.” When you walk out of class to call your mother, who just got off the phone with your doctor, she tells you that you have been diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma cancer. I can’t say I know what that feels like, but what I can tell you is what it was like to watch my brother’s face drop when he was given that very news. My brother was a freshman in college, at LIU Post, when he received his diagnosis. It wasn’t long before my family life was turned upside down.

With a small circle, and limited family who lived nearby, I thought we had nowhere to turn; then the Ronald McDonald House entered our lives. I am sure that at some point in all your lives you have probably been asked to make that extra dollar donation, after ordering your burger and fries, to the Ronald McDonald House Foundation. Well, like some of you I used to be that person that always said, “oh no thanks, I'll just take the fries that’s all,” or “maybe next time.”

Now when I’m asked to add $1 to support the Ronald McDonald House, I click yes and swipe my card, because what the Ronald McDonald House has done for my family is priceless. They save lives and families, emotionally. Support during cancer is invaluable. The Ronald McDonald House is changing the world through their philanthropy and their mission to provide hope.

The Ronald McDonald House demonstrates their selflessness through their philanthropy. They find joy in seeing a smile on others' faces. They provided support, not only for my family, but for thousands of others. They give patients undergoing cancer treatment the opportunity to keep their families together.

When cancer patients have to relocate for treatment they often fear they will no longer be able to have their family near them. However, the Ronald McDonald House, through multiple charity donations, is able to accommodate these patients by giving them and their families a place to stay. They provide families like my own a place to call their home. They bring a safe, warm, comforting, environment to the illness of cancer and they make you feel like you’re not in this alone.

Hope, it’s something that can quickly fly out the window the minute we hear the word cancer; the Ronald McDonald House, however, has found a way to bring it back. So you’re probably asking yourself just how do they bring back hope to the hopeless? Well they definitely have figured that out. Just when these families thought they wouldn’t be a family anymore, the Ronald McDonald House comes in and changes that. They bring hope back into these cancer patients lives.

Whether they are having taco Tuesdays down in the dining hall, bringing in a celebrity visitor, or just giving these kids the chance to watch a movie with their loved ones, the Ronald McDonald House is doing its job in restoring hope. Hope for a better, brighter, happier future. Hope that they will win this battle.

I think back to my brother during his battle. This was the first time I had seen him cry ever in his life. I remember how cancer affected our whole family. The Ronald McDonald House recognized that. It is time we honor and recognize this truly amazing foundation. Hopefully the next time you are buying your fries at McDonalds, you’ll think twice before saying no to that extra $1 donation because you will remember just how great the Ronald McDonald House truly is.

XOXO