Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Southwest

Did you see our newsletter that went out in December? It featured baby Annabeth and her family, who stayed at the Ronald McDonald House for 111 nights! You can read all of our past newsletters over on our website: https://lnkd.in/gzUsYFQn. You can also use the sign up form on the page to get our newsletters sent right to your email inbox. For 2025, we'll be sending out e-newsletters every month, plus invitations to all our events. This is the perfect way to add some good news and family success stories into your life. Sign up today!

Do you know a graduating high school senior who has been affected by childhood illness? At RMHC of the Southwest, we realize that a serious illness of a child can have a significant emotional and financial impact on the entire family. We have a scholarship program to support ill or injured children and their families. We have two scholarships available: the Janice Flemmons Scholarship ($2,000) and the Dina Jeffries Leadership Scholarship ($2,500). These scholarships are for graduating high school seniors in our 68 county service area who have had a serious childhood illness/injury or a sibling of someone who has had a serious childhood illness/injury. The deadline to apply is March 15th. Full requirements and application at https://lnkd.in/gv56J__i. Call us with questions at (806)744-8877

We had so many different people help the holidays magical at the Ronald McDonald House! We're beyond grateful for everyone who donated, volunteered and gave back to help our families . Thank you! We shared some photos right before Christmas and sharing some more today (and probably some repeats) of our amazing supporters. We had so many families, individuals, and groups donate to our Santa's Village, and also had several businesses arrange drives, including Firehouse Subs, Vargas Management, Indiana Village Apartment, and 2nd & Charles. Our Santa's Village was decorated and set up by Estacado Early College Ambassadors, Lubbock Cooper FBLA, Vargas Management, and Region 17 Education Service Center - Teaching and Learning. Toys and gifts were wrapped by Tyler Technologies and Affinity Group. We received roughly 400 Christmas goodie bags thanks to Main Event, Mighty Wash, Women of Stem, Plains Capital Bank, Kingdom Prep, Women in Service Organization, and True North Steel. These bags went out to kids at the Ronald McDonald House, UMC, Covenant Children's, and we even had extra to share with our community with Catholic Charities, Texas Girls and Boys Ranch and McWhorter's Elementary. We had cookie kits from Walmart at 82nd & Milwaukee and cookies for Santa's visit by Bake My Cake. And, we had delicious Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Meals from Tracy Cole and friends, Kandy Joy and Family, & Abby Vega and Family. In all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, we're sure we have missed some pictures and names. Please know how deeply grateful our staff and families are to you in your support of #KeepingFamiliesClose. We couldn't do this without you. Thank you!

It's a chilly morning at RMHC of the Southwest! This #ThankfulThursday, we're saying thank you to everyone who is keeping our families and community safe and warm! It's a true group effort and we're grateful for everyone who plays a part. From our staff who got here early this morning to salt our sidewalks to medical staff taking care of our kiddos to our police, first responders and city, county and state workers keeping everyone safe out on the road and our friends who donated blankets, jackets, beanies and gloves to keep our families warm...it's a great showing of how welcoming and caring our community is. Thank you for being part of #KeepingFamiliesClose❤️

With the different illness going around lately, keeping the House and Family Rooms clean and disinfected is a top priority. That's why for our first #WishlistWednesday of the year we are asking for cleaning and disinfecting supplies. From wipes to sprays to bathroom specific cleaners, we're going through more cleaning supplies right now as we all do our best to protect our vulnerable kids and their families. If it's something you use in your home, it's probably something we use in ours! Items can be dropped off at the House in Lubbock or our Family Rooms in Midland and Odessa. You can also donate items from our Amazon Wishlist here: https://a.co/0KzEUBV. Or, ship items to the Ronald McDonald House at 3413 10th St., Lubbock, TX, 79415.

We had a wonderful Christmas season and so much support from our community! In the Permian Basin, we had: Toy donations for our Family Room at MMH from the Bellview Baptist Church Sunday School. $1,465 in gift card donations from Bubba's 33 and their customers in Midland. Story time with Santa and Teeka the Jawa in our Family Room in Odessa. Hot cocoa stand by the student of Odessa Christian School benefitting RMHC. Thank you for being part of #KeepingFamiliesClose! ❤️

Even though the holidays are over and everything is going back to "normal", you can still do something EXTRAORDINARY for the families staying at the Ronald McDonald House! We need your help filling out our Guest Chef Calendar for January. These meals are more than food...it is a tangible way for our families to feel the love and support of our community while they deal with their child's health crisis. We need your help starting off the year with lots of love 💕. Guest Chefs are needed on: Saturday, January 11th Wednesday, January 15th Friday, January 17th Saturday, January 18th Sunday, January 19th Tuesday, January 21st Thursday, January 23rd Saturday, January 25th Sunday, January 26th Wednesday, January 29th Thursday, January 30th Friday, January 31st If you are interested in filling a slot or have questions, please give us a call at (806) 744-8877 or email Erica at ecerda@rmhcsouthwest.com.

Another wonderful now and then of one of RMHC families! The Rasco Family stayed at the Ronald McDonald House last year for 101 nights! They returned this week to give back and cook a delicious meal for the families in the House. Olive is now 1 year old and has gotten so big! And, big sister Maggie is still doing a great job helping out and taking care of her sister. ❤️

Save the Date! Our 2025 Red Shoe Gala will be on Friday, March 28th. Ticket sales will open towards the end of January so stay tuned.

🍟Happy first Fry-Day of the year! Our McDonald's friends did an amazing job this past December in challenging themselves and their customers to give generously for a "Season of Giving". For one week, they made sure to ask every customer to Round-Up #forRMHC...and they had fantastic results! Our 3 Season of Giving Champions were: McDonald's at South Loop & University ($732), 4th & Slide ($765), and 82nd & Slide ($435). Congratulations! We are so grateful to all the McDonald's restaurants and team members who participated in this challenge and all the McDonald's customers who said "yes" to rounding up their total to donate to RMHC! Together, a little change is making a big difference for sick kids and their families. Thank you!