letter from the director Thank You Thank you to all the individuals and groups who continue to dedicate their time and talents to raising money for “The House That Love Built.” American Legion Riders Post 1645 – Dominick Torto Memorial Ride: $500.00 ARCADIS of New York Inc. – 2014 Location Food Drive Challenge for Charity: $2,000.00 Bishop Ludden Junior-Senior High School Girls Soccer Team – Bottle & Can Drive: $240.00 Corning-Painted Post High School Student Council – Homecoming Court Fundraiser: $249.80 The Distillery Restaurant – Pre-Opening VIP Charity Event: $1,590.00 Edge Federal Credit Union – Matched Liverpool High School’s Penny War Fundraiser: $336.10 First Niagara Bank, CNY Employees – Jeans Day for Charity: $357.00 Lebanon Federated Church – Christmas Eve Collection: $215.00 Liverpool High School – Penny War Fundraiser: $434.26 The Oncenter/SMG Employees – Summer Fundraisers: $200.00 Onondaga County Association of Tax Receivers & Collectors – Member Collection: $82.00 Preferred Mutual Insurance Company – August Dress Down for a Cause Day: $299.00 Southern Wine & Spirits of Upstate New York – Company Picnic: $168.00 SpaZend – 10th Anniversary Celebration: $166.00 Stern Advertising – RetroGameCon 2014 Raffles: $497.00 Syracuse Corvette Club – “Vettes at the Beach” Show: $1,000.00 Thirty-One Gifts – Thirty-One Gift-A-Palooza: $93.00 Walt’s HobbyTown – 27th Annual Billy Leader Memorial Race: $3,100.00 External fundraisers, both big and small, are a tremendous source of support for the CNY Ronald McDonald House every year, and they can be very easy to coordinate. Thinking of supporting the CNY Ronald McDonald House by holding a dress-down day at work, setting up a bake sale in your neighborhood with the kids or going on a bowling outing with your co-workers? Visit our website and fill out a host application form, and we will help you get started on your own event. Donations made from Sept. 1, 2014, through Jan. 15, 2015 Leave a Legacy It’s no secret that the work we do to change children’s lives depends on your goodwill – and we want to make it as easy as possible for you to share your goodwill. Each year, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central New York provides strength for families when they need it most. At our House, parents find strength from our staff, volunteers and other families as they support their critically ill or injured child. Just as our families need an army of support, we do too to continue to make it happen. With your help, together we can make sure more families find the comfort and support they need. For more information on leaving a legacy, please call 315.476.1027 or visit rmhcpghome.org/cny. Ronald McDonald House Charities Celebrates 40 Years This year, we celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Ronald McDonald House Charities system and the opening of the first Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia in 1974. To celebrate, we invited the community to “Share Your Stripes” on social media. The response was overwhelming as numerous current and past guest families, donors, volunteers and community members shared photos with us on Facebook and Instagram that incorporated the iconic red and white stripes. Thank you to everyone who shared in our celebration and helped us raise awareness #forRMHC! 11th Annual RMHC of CNY Golf Invitational a Success Thank you to everyone who participated in the 11th Annual Ronald McDonald House Charities of CNY Golf Invitational and helped make it a success. A total of 55 golf foursomes attended, and with your support we raised more than $93,000! A big thank-you to our lead sponsors: Turning Stone Resort Casino, Dr Pepper Snapple Group and JGB Enterprises Inc., and our media sponsor: NBC3, CBS5, CW6 and CNY Central.com. Corporate Connection This past holiday season, we were honored to be one of the beneficiaries of the Coca-Cola Stuff the Truck donation drive at Destiny USA. During the promotion, the community was invited to help “stuff” a delivery truck with items to be donated to various charities in Central New York. At the end of the donation drive, Coca-Cola and Destiny USA staff members stopped by the CNY Ronald McDonald House and brought a tractor-trailer full of gifts for our guest families. Staff members from many other Destiny USA retailers have spent a day volunteering with us, including Microsoft, GameStop, the Disney Store and Dave & Buster’s. Dave & Buster’s even treated our guest families to one of their chef’s favorite dishes: “The Ultimate Mac & Cheese.” We would also like to thank our friends at Anaren Microwave Inc., The Anderson-Dubose Co., CNY Trane Co. and Merck & Co. of CNY who visit us annually to give back as a team by cooking meals for guest families, planting flowers in the garden or cleaning around the House. B’ville Big Chill More than 100 community members braved the cold for a great cause and plunged into the Seneca River as part of the 8th Annual B’ville Big Chill on Jan. 31 at Mercer Park in Baldwinsville. We extend a special thank-you to the Greater Baldwinsville Chamber of Commerce, the Village of Baldwinsville Department of Public Works and the Baldwinsville Fire Department for helping to make this year’s event safe and successful. Remember Our Donation Boxes Whether you’re driving through or dining in, please remember our charitable-donation boxes at your local McDonald’s. Your spare change directly supports the children and families of Ronald McDonald House Charities. The boxes are one of the largest fundraisers each year for our local organization. For the Love of Food Thank you to all who support the CNY Ronald McDonald House and our “For the Love of Food” program to help provide well-balanced meals for our guest families. We are fortunate to be able to partner with many great community groups and restaurants, including, but not limited to, P.F. Chang’s, Swallows Restaurant, Carnegie Café and the Syracuse Crunch Booster Club. Community Volunteers Thank you to all of the local schools, churches and community groups who continue to support the CNY Ronald McDonald House, including Bikers United of CNY, Clay Community Church, Russian Baptist Church, OCM BOCES and St. James Episcopal Church. Our volunteers perform a variety of tasks around our House, help organize and lead activities for our guest families like Christmas cookie decorating, crafts and barbecues, and even hold lemonade stands in their neighborhoods! Many thanks to all the individuals and groups who dedicate their time and talents to raising money for “The House That Love Built ® .” 13th Annual Many Hearts One Home Celebration In the fall we held our 13th Annual Many Hearts One Home Celebration at the SRC Arena and Events Center at Onondaga Community College. Nearly 300 guests attended, and we raised more than $90,000 to support our ongoing operations. We also celebrated and honored a true community partner – NBC3, CBS5, CW6 and CNYCentral.com – because healing happens together. A live auction hosted by Bernie Brzostek of Brzostek’s Auction Service, a silent auction with more than 200 items donated by local individuals and businesses, live entertainment, a photo booth by Edges Photography, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, gourmet food stations and a special appearance by Ronald McDonald himself all contributed to making the event a tremendous success. A special thanks to our event emcees, 93Q’s Ted Long and Amy Robbins, and to our event sponsors: Crouse Hospital NICU, KPMG LLP, M&T Bank, NBT Bank, Sons Bakery and Universal American. Dear Friends, Over the years, supporters like you have selflessly helped our organization comfort families with seriously ill children. Every month, we meet families like Nick and Jessie Gribble, who had no prior knowledge of our House, but fortunately were able to stay with us to be close to their granddaughter during her surgery. “Everything about your facility was extremely excellent – the room we were assigned, the kitchen and dining area, as well as the areas where we could relax and wind down following the strenuous day’s activities down at the hospital,” said the Gribbles. But the impact of staying at our House goes beyond a warm bed and meals. Ronald McDonald Houses like ours help strengthen the coping abilities of guest families by keeping them together. The atmosphere at the House and communal dining and living areas help to foster friendships among families because they are able to talk to others who are dealing with similar circumstances and lean on them for additional support. For children, playing with other children experiencing similar situations can help them cope with trauma. The proximity of our House to local hospitals provides important benefits and allows families to spend more time with their child, regularly interact with their child’s doctors and nurses, and be present to participate in medical care decisions. The need for continued community support is stronger than ever as Ronald McDonald Houses worldwide are serving 8,000 families each night. At the CNY Ronald McDonald House, guest families stayed with us approximately 5,850 nights in 2014 and we accommodated more than 1,760 family members. With more guest families, we encourage you to continue to show your support throughout 2015 so that we can continue to help keep families exactly where they belong... Together. Beth Trunfio Executive Director