An Arkansas child is sick and needs hospital care in Little Rock, hours away from home. Mom and Dad still need to work to pay the bills, put food on the table, provide shelter and security. But there's an ill kid, stuck in a hospital room, so Mom or Dad or both travel to be there.
There are the long drives back and forth from home to hospital -- the fast food meals, the mileage and, worst of all, the uncertainty. Will the child get better? Where's the normalcy in all the vagueness of this illness?
This is about as dreadful as life can be for a parent. Enter, into all these unknowns, the Ronald McDonald House in Little Rock, a "home-away-from-home" for thousands of parents of sick and injured children since its founding in 1980.
With room for 32 families, the house, which moved into a new, hotel-like building in November near Arkansas Children's Hospital, provides some order with the help of a dedicated staff. The house is open to families with children in Little Rock hospitals who live 50 miles or 45 minutes or more from Little Rock, and whose child in the hospital is 21 or younger, among other eligibility requirements.
Assisting this staff is a legion of workers, some 120 supporters who volunteer on a monthly basis at the house and another 1,200 or so who volunteer during dinners at the house, at special events and serving on event committees, says Janell Mason, executive director of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Arkansas.
Besides the house, the nonprofit also supports community programs that serve the needs of children.
"As a small nonprofit, volunteers are key to our success," Mason says. "We simply don't have the budget to meet all of our staffing needs. We know that a great volunteer brings passion, hard work and connections to even more volunteers, resources and promotion of our mission."
One such volunteer is Mary Lue Frank, who volunteered more than 190 hours at the house last year -- not counting many more hours volunteering at house-related events, such as the Great Arkansas Beer Festival, which returns Saturday to the Statehouse Convention Center in downtown Little Rock. A portion of net proceeds will benefit the Ronald McDonald House.
Frank, 69, started volunteering at the house about three years ago, when her neighbor, Mason, asked her to come check out volunteer opportunities.
"First of all, I like to have something to do," says Frank, who also volunteers at Heifer International. "It takes up my time. But I feel like it's something that needs to be done. It's a service to the house and the community, especially to the parents and the families of the children.
"They need to concentrate on getting that child well, and being able to take that child home and have a normal life. I feel like by being here ... and fulfilling some of their needs, they have more time to donate to that child and helping that child get well and free of pain and being happy and being normal and being able to go out and play with other kids," she adds.
Frank, who lives with her husband, Doug, in downtown Little Rock, retired at 65 after a career in real estate, which included about 14 years at the title firm Abstract Guaranty Co.. Previously she worked at Fabric Centre.
After retirement, Frank says she took "about six months to catch up on my sleep" but soon began looking for something to fill her days. Volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House struck a personal note with her. About 10 years ago, a grandchild in Colorado was born premature and spent time in a hospital hours away from Frank's son and daughter-in-law. Fortunately the parents had a "home-away-from-home" similar to Ronald McDonald House that was run by a local church.
"I like it a lot," Frank says about her volunteering at the house. She typically logs two to three afternoons per week. "There's a lot of organizations, nonprofits, that need help, but this is one that kind of relates to my family and my son. I like helping out here."
The nonprofit's communications director, Paul Henry, says Frank makes welcome bags for arriving families and organizes storage rooms, among other tasks.
"She will do anything; there's nothing beneath Mary Lue," Henry says. "She'll do anything that she sees needs to be done."
Mason says volunteer opportunities vary with Ronald McDonald House Charities of Arkansas, ranging from working three-hour shifts in the house's welcome center to assisting Mac, the house's goldendoodle, who also is known as the "director of smiles."
Mason says the Ronald McDonald House hit the "jackpot" with Frank.
"She is beyond resourceful; when she notices a need, Mary Lue goes out of her way to find a resource to donate it," she says. "We consider her a valuable part of our team, and would hire her in a minute ... if she would ever say yes!"
The Great Arkansas Beer Festival is 5:30-8:30 p.m. Saturday at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock. Tickets are $30 in advance and $40 at the door. Information and tickets are available at garbf.com.
High Profile on 07/16/2017