We hope you enjoy this special volunteer story from John L. Scott Lake Oswego office leader Jimi Couture. The volunteer nights at the Ronald McDonald House are a great way to make a real impact in the lives of others. Thank you for sharing your story, Jimi!
It was our privilege to serve dinner at the Ronald McDonald House in Portland for the second time this year on Tuesday, Nov. 19. Broker Patricia Rice and her daughter Stephanie joined me to make chicken tortilla soup, salad, cornbread and cookies.
During the shopping trip earlier in the day, the checker at Fred Meyer asked if the food I was buying was going to be part of my Thanksgiving dinner. I shared with her what we were up to, and her face changed – a look of sadness – and she shared with me that she has a close friend staying at Ronald McDonald House right now with her family while her 11-year-old son is undergoing treatment for cancer. They’ve been there three months and estimate that he has another nine months of treatment. She told me how grateful they are for Ronald McDonald House and all the volunteers that are making their stay as pleasant as possible under the circumstances.
She went on to tell me that the family had sold their home in Bend as well as most of their furniture, and donated the proceeds from their personal belongings – over $8,000 – to the Ronald McDonald House Charities in gratitude, even though there is no expectation that families do anything to repay for their stay. She went on to ask me a few questions about how to get involved and plans to get Fred Meyer on board to support the families, and she thanked me over and over again. I walked away from this conversation feeling a deeper connection to what we do – knowing the family’s backstory made it so much more personal.
I don’t believe in coincidences – the Fred Meyer checker and I exchanged stories that day, neither one of us will ever forget it and even more good work is going to come from it. I wanted to share the story with you, too.
