Share the ‘Gift of Love’ at Ronald McDonald House of the Four States
JOPLIN, MO. – Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Four States invites the Four-State Area to witness and share the “Gift of Light” at 34th and Jackson this holiday season.
To celebrate the 21st Annual Gift of Light, Gift of Love, Ronald McDonald House has transformed into an electrical spectacle for the community to drive by and enjoy. The Charity will also commemorate the holiday season by releasing new videos of local performing artists each week until Christmas. Visit rmhjoplin.org to view the weekly videos, learn about this year’s feature family, and donate.
“Our goal this year is to raise $200,000 for the sole purpose of giving a family with a sick child what they need most — each other,” said Amanda Mitchell, Gift of Light Gift of Love Chair and Ronald McDonald House Charities Board President. “Sometimes the best medicine of all is having family nearby for more hugs, kisses and ‘I love yous.’”
Funds raised enable Ronald McDonald House Charities to operate two programs that keep families close, offering care they need while their sick child is treated at Freeman Health System or Mercy Hospital Joplin: Ronald McDonald House and Ronald McDonald Family Room.
“Families who stay with us are able to spend precious time with their ill child,” said Mitchell. “They sense an ease of financial burden due to mounting medical bills and time away from their jobs. They have a sense of normalcy during a time of medical crisis. Caring staff and volunteers meet their immediate needs.”
Feature Family: The Marretts
On March 4, 2020, Amber checked in to the hospital and was ordered to remain at the facility on bed rest due to severe preeclampsia. Five days later she and her husband, Korey, welcomed their first child into the world by emergency C-section – eight weeks before his due date.
Walker, weighing only 3 pounds 14 ounces, was quickly carted off to Freeman Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Being new parents, 30 minutes from their home in Baxter Springs, and facing a global pandemic, Korey and Amber considered the Ronald McDonald House a blessing.
“Ronald McDonald House quickly became the solution to challenges we didn’t even know we would soon face,” said Amber Marrett. “No one can prepare you for the world of being a preemie parent… or so we thought. Postpartum anxiety, separation, insomnia, missing home, and the very unnatural process of letting go and allowing others to care for your baby were all challenges we faced. Ronald McDonald House reminded us that we were not alone on a sometimes very uncertain journey.