Thanks to everyone who visited the East House on Tuesday night for a Holiday house lighting party. As you can see below, the lighting was a success! Special Thanks to voice coach Kristi Foster and her students, who serenaded guests with carols. The lights will be on every night through the Holiday’s, welcoming guests to the house.
International students from the Au Pairs program visited the West House last Saturday to cook up a smorgasbord of different dishes for families at the house. The students, who come from different countries across the world, each contributed a unique dish from their home country. The Oregonian featured the Au Pairs meal on the cover of the Metro section last Monday.
As the last leaves of Autumn cling to increasingly bare trees, I’m still hanging on to Thanksgiving. An appreciative spirit lingers, and I’m not ready to cast it aside. There’s so much to be grateful for—which justifies prolonged reveling.
As I continue to celebrate, I’m especially thankful for the opportunity, by virtue of my role, to enter into the lives and homes of so many generous people—good men and women who’ve become friends over the years as a result of our connection here.
I think of Paul. We “met” by phone ten years ago, when I called to thank him for a gift—and he shared the story of his family’s stay at our East House. After similar acknowledgment calls for a couple years, we got together in 2003—and we’ve spoken to each other almost every month since.
Over time, we’ve shared the marriages of daughters, the passing of a parent, the wonders of grand-fathering, the idiosyncrasies of jobs, and various afflictions, both common and rare, endured by men our age. I generally wait until the end of the day to call him—saving the best for last, as it were. Each of our conversations is a gift, which I have the good fortune to open over and over again.
I hope you have a Paul. Gentle bear of a man. Big-hearted. Soft-spoken. Maybe only see each other once or twice a year—but would never want to lose touch.
I really appreciate Paul—and others like him who have so graciously shared their time, talent, and treasure here—and befriended me in the process. One day isn’t adequate to articulate, let alone savor my gratitude for them. So, I’ll keep on celebrating. As far as I’m concerned, it’s still Thanksgiving—and will be for quite a while.
Tom Soma, Executive Director
Visit C.W. Baggenstos Farms to get your Christmas Tree, and mention Ronald McDonald House Charities for a portion of the proceeds to benefit Portland’s two houses. Enjoy a hayride to the field, visit the animal barn, and sip free hot chocolate. The farm is dog friendly, and saws are provided!
Open: 9 am – 4 pm
November: Fri. 25, Sat. 26, Sun. 27
December: Fri. 2, Sat. 3, Sun. 4, Fri. 9, Sat. 10, Sun. 11, Fri. 16, Sat. 17, Sun. 18
Location:
West on Sunset Hwy 26
Mountaindale Exit 55
Follow the Red Tree C.W. Baggenstos Signs
Questions:
Call 503-449-6580
You can help ensure that Ronald McDonald House guests of every age group have a gift to celebrate this holiday season. While we are normally overflowing with gifts for young children and toddlers each year, we frequently run short of gifts for teenagers and parents, who are also staying at the Ronald McDonald House during the holiday’s.
Through our Holiday Gift Program, you can sign up to “adopt” an age group at each house, and shop for gifts appropriate for each demographic – whether it’s moms, dads, infants, or teenagers. Only a certain number of adoption spots are available for each age group, so we ask you to contact our Volunteer managers at each house to find out what age groups have the greatest need.
This year we’ll be setting up special “holiday shops” in each house where guests can pick up free gifts when they check in. That way, guests who stay with RMHC anytime during the holiday period will benefit from gift donations. You can volunteer to work in our holiday shops, helping to sort through deliveries, and giving away gifts to new house guests. Ask our volunteer managers about how to get involved.
To participate in the Holiday Gift Program, contact one of our Volunteer Managers:
East House – Legacy Emanuel
Meg Long
971-230-6708
meg.long@rmhcoregon.org
West House – OHSU/Doernbecher
Julie Ramil
971-230-0808 x. 304
jramil@rmhcoregon.org
There was a fascinating story in the paper last week. A 61-year-old Canadian man, driving in Wisconsin with his wife, stopped to fix a flat tire for two women. A few minutes later, after everyone had continued on, the two women came upon the man’s truck—now off the road—with his wife waving frantically. The man had suffered a heart attack. The women administered CPR until an emergency crew arrived—literally saving the man’s life.
We’re rarely able to repay the kindness of strangers—and almost never in such extraordinary fashion. Here at the Ronald McDonald Houses, thousands of good deeds go unrequited by their beneficiaries every year. Donors know precious little about the families they’re helping. And the families—all of whom are tremendously grateful—have no way to thank their benefactors, let alone return the favor.
I’m lucky. I get to be the “middle man”—bridging the invisible span between givers and receivers. So even when kindnesses can’t be acknowledged by the recipients, they’re always recognized by someone!
All the donors and volunteers I’ve met here will claim that they get far more than they ever give. They know that virtue is its own reward. It’s humbling—and quite wonderful—to be surrounded by so many people who live that way.
In his book, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, Robert Fulghum wrote:
There are those who depend on us, watch us, learn from us, take from us. And we never know. Don’t sell yourself short. You may never have proof of your importance, but you are more important than you think. It reminds me of an old Sufi story of a good man who was granted one wish by God. The man said he would like to go about doing good without knowing about it. God granted his wish. And then God decided that it was such a good idea, he would grant that wish to all human beings. And so it has been to this day.
I agree with Fulghum. I see it all the time. There’s plenty of good going on. And while it may not make the nightly news, it is making a world of difference—for givers, for receivers, and for very fortunate middle men like me…
Tom Soma, Executive Director
Here’s a reminder that there is still time to visit your local McDonald’s for McHappy Day through this Sunday, November 20. You can purchase paper hands for $1, $3 or $5, which will decorate the walls and windows of local restaurants to show support for Ronald McDonald House Charities.
Here’s a delicious way to support RMHC for Thanksgiving. Order your pumpkin pie through Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts and all proceeds will benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities. Students at Le Cordon Bleu will get your pie ready, which you can pick up at the Ronald McDonald House.
You need to get your order in by Monday, November 21 at 11 am. Call Rylee O’Brien at 971-230-6709 to place an order. They will be available for pickup at the East House in Portland on Wednesday, November 23.
Our thanks to everyone who has become a supporter of Ronald McDonald House Charities on Facebook. Today, we reached 1,000 followers. Social media is an easy tool for anyone who wants to become an advocate for RMHC. You can help spread the word with friends and family about the latest news and events at RMHC.
Here’s a brief overview of all the ways you can support RMHC through Social Media:
1) Facebook: Find our page at www.facebook.com/rmhcoregon. You can share RMHC’s post on your own wall by clicking “Share.” You can use our Facebook event pages to invite your own friend list to RMHC events. You can also post RMHC photos, and stories about family experiences, volunteer projects, or anything!
2) Twitter: You can follow our tweets @rmhcoregon. You can tweet about us, and use the hashtags #rmhcoregon or #rmhc to aggregate your comments for anyone searching for info about RMHC on Twitter. You can also tweet directly at us by directing your comments to @rmhcoregon.
3) Linked In: Join our group and become part of our professional network on Linked In. Search for us on the group tab at Ronald McDonald House Charities of Oregon and SW Washington.
Claire, Lucy, and Tom
Thanksgiving’s just around the corner. I love Thanksgiving. Good food, good friends, and plenty of time to savor both. Plus leftovers!
Lucy, the three-year-old daughter of Kimberlee Hanken (our development director), has taken to calling it “Nice-giving.” Now there’s a spin. Kindness on top of gratitude—some gravy!
Isn’t it fascinating how children “hear” things like that?
Thoreau wrote, “Children, who play life, discern its true laws and relations more clearly than men, who fail to live it worthily, but who think they are wiser by experience, that is, by failure.”
Such innocent inaccuracies are gentle reminders of truths we know intrinsically but tend to forget with age. I’ve surely forgotten plenty of what my children reminded me. It’s nice to be re-reminded by the children of others.
In this case, I think Lucy really captures the flavor of the first Thanksgiving—when Pilgrims and Native Americans shared thanks for kindnesses bestowed. Likewise, she conveys the spirit of our Ronald McDonald Houses—where both giving and gratitude are abundant.
Nice-giving. It’s a sweet idea. As holidays go, it’s one we could celebrate all year round.
Tom Soma, Executive Director
