Joplin, Mo. -- Members of Freeman Auxiliary – the fundraising and project-driven arm of Freeman Health System – presented a $10,000 check to Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Four States officials Tuesday morning. Freeman Auxiliary President Kay Glendenning passed the check to Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Four States Executive Director Lori Jones. 

Each year, members of the Freeman Auxiliary raise funds through the Freeman Gift Gallery, located inside Freeman West, and various sales and events. The donated funds help advance the mission of Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Four States in the Joplin region. 

Freeman Auxiliary supports several programs – with Ronald McDonald House chief among them – with monies raised at the Freeman Gift Gallery and fundraisers held throughout the year. 

Additionally, as Freeman Auxiliary and board member Jim Rhea explained, the Auxiliary’s efforts also heighten the patient experience. “One of our functions is to go down to the nursery and see the newborns and the families of the newborns as we deliver things or help people get to the right location. So as a volunteer, you have the opportunity to meet and greet a lot of people and in the case of Ronald McDonald House, the families of the children who are in the NICU.

Rhea called Ronald McDonald House “a treasure in our community, and something that needs to be supported across the board, throughout our community and beyond. It provides services not just for Joplin residents but for people from far, far away who are traveling here. Ronald McDonald House is here, without questions, to help those families whether they’re from Joplin, or Ohio, or New York, or California.”

Freeman Auxiliary’s spirit of generosity toward Ronald McDonald House has endured since 1995, when the then Auxiliary President Dorothy Storm made a pledge to bring the charity – a beautiful “home away from home” for Freeman pediatric patients and their families during some of life’s most difficult moments – to Southwest Missouri.

Jones called the presentation “a celebration of both the donation and the relationship” between Freeman Auxiliary and Ronald McDonald House.

“Freeman Health System has been a founding partner since the house was originally built, so for almost 30 years those Auxiliary members have been volunteering over at the hospital, in the gift shops and all throughout the hospital and the funds they raise help up do what we do here at the Ronald McDonald House.”

According to Jones, donations like the Auxiliary’s keep Ronald McDonald house running. “Twenty-four-seven, 365 days a year, we are serving families, so the house is always open, so this money helps underwrite some of those costs. We are 100-percent community funded, so those donations help us serve these families meals and help keep the lights on.”

PHOTO CAPTION: 

Representatives from the Freeman Health System Auxiliary and Administration presented a $10,000 check to Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Four States. Each year, the Freeman Auxiliary raises funds from Freeman Gift Gallery locations and events to help advance the mission of the Ronald McDonald House Charities throughout the region.