Heart
BEATS SPRING 2021
LifePoints
A special thank you to the sponsors and supporters of our 28th Annual Share a Heart Campaign. Last month, supporters shared their hearts by adopting paper hearts from local McDonald’s restaurants and posting their selfies on social media using #forRMHCozarks showing their love for RMHC. Thanks to Great Southern Bank, four $250 MasterCard Gift Cards were given to randomly selected RMHC supporters who “shared their hearts” on social media. Congratulations to 2021 Share a Heart Campaign winners Arlene Butler, Teresa Lemieux Green, Amber Martin & the Sarnowsky Family. The 2021 Share A Heart Campaign is presented by McDonald’s of the Ozarks, and continues to thrive with support from Leadership Sponsors, Great Southern Bank and KY3; and Supporting Sponsors, Mid-Am Metal Forming and Colorgraphic Printing. Visit ShareAHeart.org to view this year’s Family Profiles and see where our families come from on our Share a Heart Map. PRESENTING SPONSOR
LEADERSHIP SPONSORS
SUPPORTING SPONSORS
Did you know when you give blood, you are not only saving lives, but you can help our families at the Ronald McDonald Houses at the same time? When you sign up for the LifePoints program at Community Blood Center of the Ozarks, you receive points for each blood or apheresis donation you make during the year. Those points can be redeemed in many ways, including a donation made to Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ozarks! Since our partnership with CBCO began, over $8,500 has been donated to help our RMH families. There is currently a critical need for all blood types, so visit cbco.org to schedule your donation today! For more information about LifePoints, to create a donor profile and donate your points, please visit www.cbco.org/lifepoints-lift/
From The
Staff Birthdays January 1 Jamie Phariss Kaden Sumter January 2 Amy Grubaugh January 3 Jim Hallam January 6 Lucy Weitzel January 12 Tim Schmelz January 15 Kim Stagner January 17 Brenda Rosebrough January 20 Nancy Clark Becky Gillham January 23 Jean Grabeel Lynelle Dock-Peck January 25 Kim Booth Cheryl Douglas
Heart of the House House Near Cox South Ann Adams Karis Agnew Brooklynn Anderson Andrew Bandelow Hannah Braden Nadean Burnett John Carr Terri Carr Nancy Clark Tammi Davis Kathy Dennis Lynelle Dock-Peck Cheryl Douglas Blake Dowdy Judy Duncan Angela Fairchild Clydene Freeman Amanda Fronzaglia Becky Gillham Shawn Gott Ashley Grady Amy Grubaugh
Dorothy Harlan Laura Harrelson Aston Heinrichs Kaya Heinrichs Olivia Heinrichs Corine Isenhower Lisa James Laura Johnson Raegan Johnston Clayton Keller Levi Kemp Caleb Kerr Becky Lang Dustin Long Peyton Long Shawn Lowery Evan Mason Eileen Meinsen Larry Meinsen Sandy Morris Roberta Osborn Karla Peck
LeRoy Peck Gretta Phillips Lerris Pierce Aidan Plank Kay Prost Beka Razor Rebecca Reser Abigail Richardson Cliff Ricketts Jan Ricketts Brenda Rosebrough Robin Rueter Timothy Schmelz Anne Schubert Debbie Slocum Randy Slocum T.J. Slocum Mary Smith Gail Sours Grace Stagner Kim Stagner Keith Steenbergen
Pamela Stout Kaden Sumter Ava Uzzell Sondra Uzzell Tristen Uzzell Janet VanGorkom Abigail Weitzel Lucy Weitzel Joanna Weitzel Scott Weitzel Travis Weitzel James Winstead Ryan Winstead Kelly Wirtz Meghan Zengel Sydney Zupan
House At Mercy Kids Anna Berry Stephanie Bube Katherine Bunch April Carmichael David Carmichael Katy Chambers Jerrica Conrad Jennie Crabbe Glory Ehie Sandy Emberton Alexis Gaono Terry Greer Ann Griesemer Shirley Hall
Renae Harrison Brenda Havens Kylee Heishman Thomas Heye Jenni Jacka Leah Jackson Trot Kinser Ami Le Hannah Le Brady Marshall Kathy Marshall Kassie Medina Madison Mickan Jianna Mills
Kiera Mills Krista Mills Rebekah Mitts Marel Morris Jordan Newman Erin Norris Caitlyn Norris Ellie Norris Tracie Nicholson Kate Okland Olivia Parks Jamie Phariss Payton Polino Cathy Sanchez
Linda Schultz Maricielo SchwartzLeon Lauren Stockam Breanna Sundet Kayla Swearengin Madeline Urhahn Will Vance Kenzie Voyles Hanna Wilken Judy Zorn
January 27 TJ Slocum
RMHC Staff Heart Beats is published for volunteers of Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ozarks and The Tooth Truck, Inc. ©2021 RMHC The following trademarks used herein are owned by McDonald’s Corporation and its affiliates and are used under license: Ronald McDonald House Charities, Ronald McDonald House Charities logo, Ronald McDonald House, Ronald McDonald Care Mobile, RMHC, Keeping Families Close. The Tooth Truck name and logo are owned by The Tooth Truck, Inc.
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President & CEO Bonnie Keller
RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE NEAR COX SOUTH
RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE AT MERCY KIDS
Vice President Debbie Kinser
Program Manager Laura Winstead
Program Manager Larry Chainey
Tooth Truck Program Director Mindy Muñoz
Associate Program Manager Heather Hyde
Associate Program Manager Lacey McKeever
Project Manager Amber Price
Family Care Managers Lexi Beaman Austin Day Mackenzie Meyers Emily Ogle Emmy Taylor Rebekkah Wall
Development Assistant Kim Booth
Family Care Managers Jacob Golden Savannah Keller Madison Mickan Jack Osborn
HOUSE VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT
Dear Ronald McDonald House Volunteers, With the start of the New Year comes a feeling of HOPE! We are hearing positive messages about a return to more normalcy as the year progresses, which means we will be looking at ways our amazing House Volunteers can safely return to helping our families and organization. In the meantime, please know how much we miss your smiling faces and giving spirits! We hope you all are staying safe and well, and are filled with hope for the future.
Stepan Yosup Team Janet The Girlfriends Union Hill COC
OPEN DINNER DATES:
March: 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 25, 29, 30, 31 April: 1, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 27, 29, 30
Nothum Food Processing On Angels Wings Sanchez Family Springfield Area HR Association The Goldens Turning Point Church Union Hill Church of Christ Wellington Hills Friends
February 11 Scott Weitzel February 14 Karen Taylor Laura Winstead February 19 Ann Griesemer February 20 Abigail Richardson March 2 Karla Peck March 4 Corine Isenhower March 5 Debbie Williams March 6 Heather Hyde Laura Robinson
March 12 Jennie Crabbe March 14 Travis Weitzel March 15 Tyler Cockrum March 19 Payton Polino Lerris Pierce March 25 Kathy Marshall
RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE AT MERCY KIDS Arvest Bank Ash Grove UMPC Ashley Love Construction Battlefield Methodist Church Covey Family East Sunshine Church of Christ Houlihan’s Jordan Heinz State Farm Kathryn Hayes Family Khols Group Mercy SBU College of Nursing MSU Softball Bear Family
February 1 Amanda Fronzaglia
March 11 Aston Heinrichs
RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE NEAR COX SOUTH Dru Hovis & Friends Fremont Elementary Hamilton Family Jack Henry Finance Jackson Family Just Friends Knights of Columbus Leann Pyatt Little Caesars Pizza Marianne Hill & Family Michelle & Jordan Boehme Oak Grove Assembly of God Parkcrest Baptist Short Family
(continued)
March 9 Glory Ehie Becky Reser
Dinner Groups! Ameriprise Financial Amy Grubaugh Andrea Harp Angie Patrick Battlefield UMC Blue Silo Beef Carr Family Cerner Si3 Church of JCLDS Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints CNH Reman Cox Pediatrics Daniela Teodosiev
Birthdays
OPEN DINNER DATES:
March: 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31 April: 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 17, 18, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30
March 27 Jeff Bertholdi
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Around the Houses Happy Wheels Throughout the past several months, the Mercy House has had the privilege of continuing our Happy Wheels Program! Though we are not able to visit each unit with the help of our volunteers like we normally would, staff members have been able to stop by the St. Jude Clinic as well as Mercy Sleep Lab to see the patients receiving care each week. Since we were able to start the program up again, we have been able to provide over 300 bags and a total of 900 items! We do miss our volunteers who would deliver Happy Wheels bags each week throughout the units we serve and we cannot wait until they can return to spread a little happiness.
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Window Refurbishment after 33 years! The Ronald McDonald House near Cox South opened in March of 1988 and one of the generous donors allowing us to open debt-free was Marvin Windows. Their amazing gift of every window in the House has served us well over the past 33 years! After consulting with a local expert, it was suggested we consider refurbishing the parts surrounding the windows rather than replacing them, as they are in excellent condition. After careful inspection of each of the 70+ windows in the House, it was determined that replacement parts were available to give them up to ten more years of life before replacement windows are needed. This project was recently completed thanks to a generous donation of $10,000 from Cox Health! We are also grateful to Southern Supply for discounted parts and labor, not to mention their expertise. We are so thankful to these wonderful partners who are helping us reduce utility bills for years to come and most importantly, make our families more comfortable while caring for their hospitalized child.
Family Dinner Spotlight Monthly Statistics Throughout the past several months, our Family Dinner
Program has been running in a unique way. Our Dinner Groups can provide take out/delivery, ingredients for their favorite recipe, or donate online to fund our dinners. Though we miss getting to see our amazing Dinner Groups serve a home-cooked meal to our amilies, we are so grateul or their flexibility and passion to continue serving families in need. With their help, both of our Ronald McDonald Houses have been able to provide pre-packaged meals so our amilies eel sae and cared or during their stay. Many o our staff members have quickly become chefs during this time, but we know that it is just not the same without our Dinner Groups. Right now, having meals donated is a high need for our two Ronald McDonald Houses. You can provide our families the comforts of home – simply at the comfort of your own! Please contact Lacey McKeever at Lacey.McKeever@rmhcozarks.org (Mercy House) or Heather Hyde at Heather.Hyde@rmhcozarks.org (House near Cox South) if you would like more information on donating a meal.
January 2021
House Near Cox South STATS Families Served.............. 22 Nights...................................154 Families from Missouri................................20 Families from Other States.........................2 Year to Date...................... 22 Program to Date... 10,999
House At Mercy Kids STATS Families Served.............. 18 Nights.................................. 165 Families from Missouri.................................14 Families from Other States.........................4 Year to Date...................... 18 Program to Date.....3,360
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WISH LIST
Staff Stuff The Ronald McDonald House near Cox welcomes two new Family Care Managers to the team: Austin Day and Emily Taylor.
Austin is a student at Assemblies of God
Happy Wheels Small bottles of lotion Mini hand sanitizers Activity books (crossword puzzles, Sudoku, word finder) Small packs of crayons for the activity books Travel manicure sets Chapstick Individual packs of Kleenex Individually packaged snacks (Goldfish, granola bars, Teddy Grahams, gum, mints, Lifesavers, etc.) 12-ounce water bottles
Theological Seminary, pursuing a M.A. in Intercultural Studies. He loves anything outdoors: coffee shops, galleries, music, reading, learning, Chiefs football, and sharing a meal with a person of a different “home culture.”
Emily (aka Emmy)
is a double major in Criminology and Religious Studies at Missouri State University. She has a love for dinosaurs, including having a dinosaur Christmas tree! She used the Ronald McDonald House in Kansas City three years ago and now, absolutely loves working here. Emmy says “It is pretty cool to come full circle and give back to the organization that gave so much to me!”
Mission Moment
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The Overton family from St. Louis used the House near Cox South for more than 40 nights, through Christmas 2019 and into the 2020 New Year. When their adoption of Lane was finalized on September 25, 2020, one of their first stops was to visit the House to say hello. It’s such an honor to be a part of Lane’s story and to share a bond with his parents. We love when they check in throughout the year to share adorable photos, like his hamburger costume! Thank you to the Overton family for participating in Share a Heart and for being an advocate for the Ronald McDonald House!
Grab n’ Go In order to provide our guests with a healthy and safe environment to call their “home-away-from-home” through the COVID-19 pandemic, both of our Ronald McDonald Houses have operated with our Common Areas temporarily closed. In order to continue to provide our guests access to snacks, coffee and meals throughout the day and evening, our staff has temporarily repurposed convenient Grab n’ Go areas. In doing so, we have been able to provide snack and meal items for our guests to access 24 hours a day. Our Grab n’ Go areas are equipped with Keurig coffee makers, microwaves and mini refrigerators. At the Mercy House, a Whirlpool 3.6 cu ft Mini Refrigerator Beverage Center which was generously donated by the Penland community group from LifePoint Church this past Christmas. This new mini fridge is the same make and model as the mini fridge we have had in the Mercy House’s Office for several years. This donation has been such a wonderful addition to our Grab n’ Go area as it has provided more food and beverage options for our guests throughout their stay in the House.
WISH LIST
House at Mercy Kids
Another popular addition to our Houses, and Grab n’ Go areas, are Kellogg’s cereal towers donated by a new RMHC national donor, the Kellogg Company. Each of our Kellogg’s cereal towers fits 36 individually-packaged bowls o cereal, which are handy for our guests to grab on their way out to visit their child in the mornings. Not only has the Kellogg Company provided the cereal tower, but they have also committed to keeping our tower stocked by donating one case of 60 bowls of their most popular brands of cereal to each House, each month. What good is cereal without cold milk...right? When hearing about our newly acquired cereal tower, Mercy Hospital’s Food and Nutrition Services has generously continued to stock our new mini fridge with cartons of milk for our Mercy families. Thanks to the generosity of the Kellogg Company, LifePoint Church, Mercy Food and Nutrition Services and countless generous members of our community, we have been able to continue to provide snacks, meals and coffee for our valued guests through our Grab n’ Go area. A huge thank you to everyone who has helped make this area a reality! If you are interested in helping support the use of our Grab n’ Go areas during this time, please drop off individuallypackaged snacks and beverages to the Ronald McDonald House near Cox South anytime from 9am-9pm on weekdays and weekends.
HE Laundry detergent Swiffer liquid Coffee filters Coffee & tea Magic Erasers Labels for food Drink mixes Hygiene products Gallon-size Ziploc bags Laundry baskets Aluminum foil Travel-Size Toothpaste Fabric Softener
House near Cox South 8-gallon trash bags Individually wrapped breakfast items White queen deep pocket sheets (fitted and flat) White standard-size pillowcases White bath & hand towels White wash cloths Detergent Stamps 8 1/2 x 11 Paper K-cups Large Tupperware containers White Bath Mats
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Heart Tooth Talk of the Truck Ten Years
By Dr. Sarah Cimino
Britt Bartels Stephanie Daniels Kathy Evans Angela Fairchild Melinda Fielder Katlyn Frazier Shawn Gott Sarah Jobe Anya Jones Kenny Kleiman Susan Lemmon Connie McCarter Blaine Weiss Chloe Williams Pamela York Jessica Zengel
STAFF
PRESIDENT & CEO Bonnie Keller PROGRAM DIRECTORRONALD MCDONALD CARE MOBILE Mindy Muñoz GENERAL DENTIST Dr. Sarah Cimino COMMUNITY DENTISTS Dr. Raymond Burton Dr. Aaron Dannegger Dr. Brett Durbin Dr. Misty Shelton PATIENT COORDINATOR Kiara Williams DENTAL ASSISTANTS Megan Sanders Gracie Morton
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This February 1st, I celebrated my tenth anniversary as the full-time general dentist on the Tooth Truck. As with all celebrations and milestones recently, the celebration looked different but was no less heartfelt as an amazing group of co-workers, board members, and supporters surprised me over Zoom and showered me with their gracious words and sentiments. The gesture left me speechless and in tears (both things that those who know me will attest don’t happen often), and deeply appreciative of all this organization has given me over the past decade. As I usually do when writing my yearly piece reflecting on the previous year, I looked back over what I had written in years past. I had planned on picking a paragraph from each of my previous year’s writings to include here as a capsule summary of my time
Ten Years
(continued from page 8)
on the Tooth Truck. In fact, I had it all put together when I realized I was missing my entry from my 5th year. When I found the article I wrote in 2016, though, I scrapped everything else because my words then were exactly what I was still feeling today.
The pictures are different this year; the smiles are a little more hidden behind masks and PPE, but the mission and the love are the same.
Ronald McDonald Care Mobile of the Ozarks January 2020
February 2016 “I looked at my old anniversary Heart Beats articles to draw inspiration as I sat down to write this piece. The common thread that kept jumping out at me came as no surprise - it was the pictures and stories about the patients. The more I looked, the more I realized that they weren’t just patients. The faces looking back at me from the pages were of innocent children filled with hope, dreams and fears. On each of their faces, though, was a smile. A smile of trust and confidence - the mission of the Tooth Truck could be seen in each of their faces. That was my story, my five years, my next five years.”
And now, ten years later, those smiling faces have numbered 15,551 children for a total of over $11 million dollars in dental services. Amazed, humbled, and motivated - here’s to ten more years!
Children Treated:..............103 Dental Appointments Provided:..................................167 Year to Date Dental Appointments:................ 1,869 Program to Date Dental Appointments:..............59,917 Program to Date Value of Treatment:........ $18.5 million Children Who Received Treatment: Bingham Elementary Bowerman Elementary McGregor Elementary The Fairbanks Willard Schools
Birthdays January 17 Pame York
January 19 Chloe Williams January 20 Anya Jones February 8 Britton Jobe February 22 Alison Lamphear February 23 Sarah Jobe
Tooth Truck Wish List
Action figures Matchbox cars Hair accessories (clips, headbands) Chapstick Clorox Wipes Dixie Cups Handheld games
Jewelry (necklaces, bracelets) DVDs for older children Outdoor toys (bubbles, sidewalk chalk, Frisbees, sports balls) Walmart gift cards Beanie Babies
March 3 Kiara Williams
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Heart Beats
949 E. Primrose Street Springfield, Missouri 65807-5257
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Price Cutter Charity Championship July 22nd – 25th Highland Springs Country Club Mark your calendars for the 32nd annual Korn Ferry Tour’s Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper July 22nd – 25th at Highland Springs Country Club. TLC Properties’ CHARITY SWEEPSTAKES TICKETS provide more than half of the annual funding we receive from this event, and tickets will be on sale soon. Check the May edition of Heart Beats for more details.