Our House Managers have updated the House Wish List for the New Year! The Wish List is made up of everyday items that our Houses use the most. Anyone can print the list off our website, and take it with you the next time you go to the store, to buy items for the Ronald McDonald House. When you’ve purchased items, you can stop by either Portland house to drop off the supplies in person. The list is also a great resource for organizing a collection drive.

Click here to print the House Wish List at rmhcoregon.org.

Dinner and a Movie – Big Night
Wednesday, January 18, 6 pm

Technique Restaurant – 600 SW 10th Avenue

The Master Chefs and students of Le Cordon Bleu have organized a three course dinner based on the movie Big Night to include:

• Anti-Pasta Platter with sautéed grapes, olvilitini (small mozzarella balls), and marinated tomatoes and garlic.
• Tri-Colored Risotto and Big Night Timpano.
• Torta al Vino wine cake with grapes.

After dinner you’ll walk down to Living Room Theaters – 341 SW 10th Avenue – to watch the movie that inspired the dinner.

Big Night – A failing Italian restaurant run by two brothers gambles on one special night to try to save the business. Starring Stanley Tucci, Isabella Rossellini, Minnie Driver and Ian Holm.

$30 per person (includes dinner and movie). All proceeds benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Oregon and Southwest Washington.

Click here to purchase tickets.

2012 has only just begun, but it’s never too early to save the date for our upcoming events later this year. Mark these dates now on your calendar, and we will make sure to keep you informed of other updates!

Mike Rich and Friends Present Ronald McDonald House Charities Golf And Social
RMHC Social
Sunday, July 29

RMHC Golf
Monday, July 30

Hearts & Hands Auction
Friday, September 21

Tom's temporary replacement.

I recently returned from a trip to find my office chair occupied by a large stuffed horse—an amusing reminder of the precarious nature of my job. Supplanted by a child’s toy—and I’m sure there are days when staff members prefer the horse!

Such playful moments ease the challenges for everyone here. Laughter’s a big part of the healing process. During the dark times (think winter in Oregon), it’s especially important to savor the light—and I’m amazed at the ability of our guests to do so. Of the 20,000 families we’ve hosted during my 13-year tenure, I’ve not heard a single one complain that they had it “the worst.”

I had a lovely conversation last week with a man whose daughter remains under medical care years after their stay here. “We’ve learned to take things day by day,” he observed at one point. “That’s all we can do,” I replied.

One day at a time. One smile, one laugh, one kind word, and one stuffed animal at a time. That’s really all any of us can do. Hopefully we will, whenever the opportunity arises.

Tom Soma, Executive Director

ServiceMaster of Portland raised more than $3,000 for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Oregon and Southwest Washington through promotions in 2011. The company provides residential and commercial cleaning and damage restoration services. They donate to RMHC each time a customer returns a customer service survey, and between September and December, they contributed $20 to RMHC for every water mitigation job. During the holiday’s this year, the Portland office also collected gifts to help families celebrate the season. We appreciate our partnership with ServiceMaster.

Click here to visit the ServiceMaster website.

Thank you to everyone who supported Ronald McDonald House Charities this holiday season. Whether you donated time, talent, or treasure, you helped bring the spirit of the season to our two Portland Houses. We wish everyone a happy and healthful 2012.

I’m always amused by the crowds at 24 Hour Fitness during the first three weeks of January. Parking is nearly impossible—as is use of the free weights, elliptical trainer, and just about every other piece of equipment to which I have unfettered access the other 49 weeks. It also amazes me how quickly all the activity dissipates. As they say, the spirit is willing…

Speaking of spirits, this time of year also brings to mind one of my literary heroes, whose encounter with Christmas ghosts inspired a resolve that did withstand the test of time—and whose reformation is evidence of our capacity for change: the legendary Ebeneezer Scrooge.

The Christmas Carol concludes with Dickens’ marvelous description of human transformation:

“Scrooge was better than his word… He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed; and that was quite enough for him.”

I love the idea of a laughing heart—one that’s wise enough to tolerate those who would belittle goodness. And I think that’s a nice image with which to begin a new year, especially at a place like the Ronald McDonald House, where so much good is done by so many.

Confident that I’m in generous company, I’m resolving to laugh more in 2012. I invite you to grin both with and at me throughout the year as well.

Happy New Year!

Tom Soma, Executive Director

Portland’s two Ronald McDonald Houses are open every day and night of the year – providing a “home away from home” for families and their seriously ill children who travel to Portland for medical care.

It takes more than 6,000 individuals and organizations each year to sustain the nearly 1,600 families who stay with us for days, weeks, and even months.

There is still time to make a gift before the year-end. Our office will be open until 5 pm on Friday, December 30, and you can always submit your donation online right up until the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve.

Click here to donate to Ronald McDonald House Charities.

If you have already made a gift, thank you for your generous support!

The Wizard of Oz continues at the Portland Center for the Performing Arts through this Sunday! If you buy tickets to the matinee performances on Saturday at 2 pm or Sunday at 4 pm, you can upgrade your ticket for an additional $5 to meet the memorable characters in person after the show. All the proceeds from this meet-and-greet opportunity benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities. Say hello to Dorothy, the Tin Man, Scarecrow, and The Cowardly Lion!

Remaining Performances:

December 28, 7:30 pm
December 29, 7:30 pm
December 30, 7:30 pm
December 31, 2:00 pm
January 1, 4:00 pm

Click here to buy tickets.

Tom with daughter Kate and grandson Ryker

I love walking—especially when I’m not bound by time or purpose.  My girlfriend’s dog is a great excuse for such aimless roaming. He needs the exercise and she enjoys having the two of us out of her hair periodically.

I marvel at Darby’s innate curiosity and attention to detail. He stops and goes and stops again, wagging and smelling away. Just doing his business (in more ways than one)—as I alternate between amusement and my own rambling thoughts.

I recall my daughter Kate, as a seven-year-old, walking out the door one December afternoon more than two decades ago. “Where are you headed?” I asked.

“Just wondering around,” she replied, casually. Funny how long it’s taken me to indulge that pleasure…

Last week, Kate returned for a visit with her husband, Will, and nearly three-month-old son, Ryker—my first grandchild. Just holding Ryker fills me with wonder. And I understand (perhaps for the first time) the idea of “Christmas”—how an infant can change the fate of a world…

Also last week, I met Heidi—a mother whose 17-year-old daughter has been hospitalized for six months. The doctors tell her to expect another six months—at least. But Heidi hopes for a faster recovery. “A miracle,” she says.

The season is conducive to wonder and hope. Miracles are a product of both.

For Heidi and her daughter, I wish that miracle. For you and me, a new year in which every day is full of wonder and hope.

Tom Soma, Executive Director