Are you interested in volunteering at the Ronald McDonald? Greenville, SC is home to the Ronald McDonald House of the Carolinas, and they are always looking for wonderful volunteers! Learn what types of volunteer opportunities are available to help support this important organization which helps families with children receiving care at local hospitals.
There are many ways that you can help support the Ronald McDonald House through acts of kindness and volunteering. If you’re looking for a place your whole family can volunteer, consider helping out at our local Ronald McDonald House. RMHC has several opportunities for volunteers of any age!
What is Ronald McDonald House Charities?
RMHC provides a low-cost place for families to stay who have a critically ill or injured child in a nearby hospital. The houses offer private bedrooms, playrooms and home-cooked meals–all of which allow families to stay close to their hospitalized loved ones. There are over 350 Ronald McDonald Houses, in 63 countries and they serve more than 12,000 families each night.
Locally, Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Carolinas is across the street from Greenville Memorial Hospital on Grove Road. It features 12 private rooms, laundry services, a double kitchen, a playroom and an outdoor playground.
Volunteer Opportunities at the Ronald McDonald House: Greenville, SC
Volunteers are vital to the Ronald McDonald House in Greenville. Volunteers can help with simple chores, baking cookies, cooking meals, helping clean, and spending time with the families and siblings of children who are ill. These children are often saddled with an unbearable amount of stress. Spending time in a colorful playroom away from the hospital is the perfect place for them to set aside their grief and act their age.
RMHCC is always looking for volunteers, and there are several volunteer programs families can do together. There are lots of simple ways you and your children can become a small part of this amazing organization.
Volunteer by Baking Cookies
One of the most popular volunteering programs at RMHCC is Cookies from the Heart. This program bakes fresh cookies for the families in residence. Fresh-baked cookies help make staying at RMHCC feel more like home. Plus, it’s a fast treat they can grab on their way to the hospital.
Groups of up to 6 people can sign up for weekday morning hours to volunteer cooking and baking. You must bring all ingredients, while RMHCC will provide cookie sheets, bowls, spatulas, cooling racks, and individual baggies for packaging up the cookies. They have three ovens available for use. You can make any type of cookies, brownies, or blondies. They only ask that no nuts be used.
Children 8 and older can participate, and the rule is 2 children to one parent.
The Guest Chef Program at the Ronald McDonald House
RMHCC provides the families staying there with home-cooked meals every evening through the Guest Chef Program. Volunteers for this program are asked to make enough food for at least 20 people.
Food can be catered or prepared onsite using the kitchens and equipment at the House, which includes a gas grill, three ovens, and two stoves. Time slots for this program are every day from 4 to 6 p.m., with the mealtime around 6 p.m. Groups of 6 or less can help prepare the meals onsite.
Prepare Meals in the Weekend Meal Prep Program
Similar to the Guest Chef Program, families who’d like to help out on the weekends can sign up to make prepared meals for residents of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Carolinas.
Volunteers can prepare casseroles, soups, pasta bakes, and other meals that hold up well for the residents to cook and eat later in the week.
Families can volunteer from 11 am to 12:30 pm, both Saturday and Sunday. Meals should be cooked at RMHCC or be catered. Children 10 and older can help their parents during meal prep.
Help Keep the Ronald McDonald House Clean as a House Monitor
House Monitor volunteers can help out both during the week and on weekends to maintain the home and keep the Ronald McDonald House clean. Volunteers help families with laundry, removing trash and recycling from the home, sanitizing the common areas, and more.
They can also help with office tasks, yard work, housekeeping, and various household tasks. Volunteers must be 16 or older to participate as a House Monitor. Shifts are 2 hours long and are available from 9 am to 8 pm Monday through Friday. Saturday and Sunday volunteer hours are from 10 am to 8 pm.
Other Ways Families Can Help
- The Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Carolinas wish list is an excellent way to help when you cannot be there in person to volunteer. The list includes cleaning supplies, paper goods, coffee cups, sugar packets, canned soups, and protein bars. They’d also love holiday toys for children and pre-teens.
- Make decorations or write Christmas cards for the families in residence.
- Collect pop tabs from cans to donate to the RMHCC. The center can then turn in the aluminum for money at a recycling center to fund the program.
- RMHC donation boxes are located at McDonald’s restaurants and Walgreens. A donation box full of spare change can pay for a family to stay at the House for one night.
- RMHCC also has additional volunteer opportunities for adults, individuals, and groups. For more information, questions, or to sign up for one of these volunteer opportunities, please visit the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Carolinas website.
Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Carolinas
706 Grove Road, Greenville, SC
864.235.0506
Would volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House be the perfect way to give back for your family?
