Introduction
Working for a nonprofit organization that regularly conducts social and community works and projects was one of the most surprising yet unbelievably rewarding experiences I have had. In this paper, my experiences working as one a volunteer in the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) will be discussed. As a volunteer I worked with the organization’s official staff together with all the other volunteers. My ultimate goal was basically in line with that of the RMH and that is to provide a home away from home for families of children who are receiving medical care and treatment at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health and other hospitals and medical centers located nearby. It is worth noting that RMH also offers scholarship programs to eligible students, which is a good thing because it is a more sustainable way of helping the low income families . The target population of RMH are those who do not have access to even the most affordable housing options in the market—basically the homeless . These are low-income families who rely on the help and assistance provided by the government—through social subsidies, and organizations like the RMH .
Reflection Points
The Ronald McDonald House
Poverty has always been identified as one of the main reasons why children grow up in broken families. Although humans are innately good-natured, caring, and loving, especially for members of their own family, they have always been geared for survival. Their physical instinct to survive just like any other wild animal would get activated the moment they experience hunger, insecurity, among other negative emotions that are typically seen in low-income and homeless people. This may also be attributed to the high levels of stress that these families (and individuals) are often subjected to. This is where the main purpose of the RMH and volunteers like us would come in. Together, we help create a less stressful environment for low-income and homeless families. This effort is aimed at promoting family closeness. This is somewhat based on the idea that a well-fed and secured family is a happy family.
The Overall Experience
In total, I spent four hours, divided into two separate visits specifically on the 6th and 10th of March 2016, within the RMH. Throughout my stay inside the RMH, I have learned a lot of things, things that I would very much like to reflect on. What I did there was what one can call hard labor, especially if it is going to be compared to the typical activities that a college student engages in. We helped assist the other volunteers in preparing and distributing linen bags, coffee bags. We helped clean the kitchens after every feeding program. Such programs would of course be for the family members of the children being treated in the nearby hospitals . To sum my experience up, we did the heavy and dirty (figuratively) work, which is only expected because that is what other previous volunteers did as well .
I honestly believe that even though my length of stay within the RMF was short, I was able to make significant contributions. I did not have any concerns or reservations before doing the work because I knew from the beginning that it was for a good cause. Also, helping those people, primarily the children, was my way of giving thinks that I am not in a similar situation. I knew that even though most of the children and their family members are proactive and participative in the programs that we witnessed, what they are experiencing is an unimaginably hard thing, something which I think even I would not be able to handle. I did not have any experience in doing this kind of work. Will I go back? The answer is yes; and this is mainly because of the feeling of satisfaction after knowing that you have helped many families experience the feeling of being relieved despite their many problems. It is true that I was not able to contribute financially for their cause, however, my efforts, together with that of the thousands of volunteers for RMH, would be more than enough for them to feel that there are still a lot of people who care about them.
I learned that there are a lot of unfortunate people out there and that I am lucky enough to be in a position to help them. This is why I am going to exhaust all possible efforts to help them, may be not financially but by offering myself to them just like what the thousands of volunteers there are doing. Poverty is I think the most pressing need of the community . This is what caused the problems of the families RMH is trying to help in the first place. Livelihood programs would definitely be a more appropriate project that would address those needs.
Personally, I did not dislike anything about the experience. It was an eye-opener. Sure there were negative things but those negative things made me aware of what life really looks like beyond the four corners of our house and classroom.
Conclusions
Even though the entire experience was rewarding and what I would call a success, there are still some things that I want to learn more about. In this case, that would be the answer to the question on how we can put an end to those families’ suffering in a sustainable way. Providing relief is a good thing but getting them out of the situation they are in would be a more sensible solution. As mentioned, the experienced turned out to be an eye opener for me. It helped me realize that life is not a fairy tale. Thanks to businesses like McDonalds and the nearby hospitals in the area and of course the RMH, homeless and low income families’ welfare are being paid attention to. To this end, I think my biggest possible contribution in the future (to educate the people about such issues) can be done by encouraging them to volunteer in RMH as well, just like what I did. That way, they too could have a great eye-opening experience.
References
Brazelton, F., Ellis, S., Macedo, C., Shader, A., & Suslow, K. (1999). Study of Corporate Social Responsiblity, Poverty and Prejudice: Breaking teh Chains of Inner City Poverty. EDGE, https://web.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/citypoverty/hedge_poverty.htm.
Horovitz, B. (2013). McDonald's slammed over Ronald McDonald House giving. USA Today, http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/10/29/mcdonalds-ronald-mcdonald-house/3189709/.
News 4. (2016). Ronald McDonald House Charities Recognizes ACN as a Signature Partner. http://mynews4.com/news/local/locals-cook-dinner-for-guests-of-reno-ronald-mcdonald-house.
RMH Indiana. (2016). Ronald McDonald House of Indiana. http://www.rmh-indiana.org/.
RMHC. (2016). Helping students afford the education of their dreams. http://www.rmhc.org/rmhc-us-scholarships.
RMHC. (2016). RMHC Frequently Asked Question. RMHC, http://www.rmhc.org/frequently-asked-questions.
Ronald McDonald House. (2016). What We Do. RMHC, http://www.rmhc.org/what-we-do.
