Ronald McDonald House staying nimble to hold fundraising events–even virtually

Ronald McDonald House Charities is finding ways to keep the spirit of some of their annual fundraising events alive.

Oreen Skiba, stakeholder relations manager for the Ronald McDonald House, Lakeland region, said they had to cancel their physical Run for RMHCNA in Cold Lake.

Instead, the Hustle for the House as it’s been dubbed now, is going digitally from July 6-12.

“This year, we’ve decided to go province-wide and virtual. So Ronald McDonald House actually supported in 2019 families in 194 different communities in Alberta. So we thought why don’t we make this event a provincial virtual event and we can get into all of those communities,” said Skiba.

There are also fundraising incentives for some of the top donors.

If you sign up before May 25 you’ll get a free t-shirt and if you raise over $100 you’ll get one of Ronald’s iconic red and white striped socks.

“Our top three fundraisers will receive some amazing prizes. We have $1400 in Marlin travel vouchers. We have a $1,000 WestJet voucher, and then we have $1,000 in gift cards, so people can when they register, set up their fundraising platform and also reach out into their networks to do that,” said Skiba.

The fact is, the need is now even greater than normal in the COVID world, and many families are still staying at the Ronald McDonald House or being helped with fuel and grocery cards to help them out.

“Throughout the Lakeland region, we’ve helped over 150 families…in the last two years, Lakeland families have stayed over 1400 nights at the three Ronald McDonald Houses,” said Skiba.

The status of their charity golf tournaments though are still up in the air.

“The Bonnyville [and District] Chamber and I are talking about different options for what can happen in Bonnyville. And we’ve actually postponed the Cold Lake Ronald McDonald House golf tournament until Saturday, September 27.

“So hopefully we’re not golfing in snow, but we’re watching what AHS is suggesting and what the golf course will be suggesting.”

Follow their Facebook page for up to date information.