When Lynnette Savill was focusing on her daughter during a medical emergency, there was an organization there to offer her a warm bed to sleep in at night.
”We had our 17-year-old daughter flown to Red Deer Hospital. I got to Red Deer at midnight and was told there was a room for me at the Ronald McDonald House (RMH),” she recalled.
It’s for that reason she’s volunteered for the local Ronald McDonald House Charities Northern Alberta (RMHCNA) run for the last four years.
”If it wasn’t for the RMH, families in need wouldn’t have a place to stay,” expressed Savill.
Over 700 runners hit the streets of Cold Lake donning red and white striped socks on Saturday, May 4.
”Locally, we’ve had about 125 families utilize the house,” explained Oreen Skiba, stakeholder relations manager for the Lakeland region for the RMHCNA. “In the last two years, Lakeland families have stayed over 1,400 nights at the Edmonton house alone.”
Having a place to go at the RMH gave Savill “a home away from home” while she stayed in Red Deer.
”I had a husband and two other children left in Bonnyville at home, but was treated like family. From a room to stay in, to meals... Everything’s pretty much there for you.”
It wasn’t only because the money raised was going to a good cause that had Tiffany Bezanson strapping on her running shoes.
She said, “We like to get out and do some fun activities as a group... It’s nice to get outside, and do some outdoor activities after the winter.”
The whole Bezanson family got into the spirit of it. While she and their three children chose the five-kilometre route, her husband was in it for the long haul and ran the 10-km.
According to Skiba, the RMH is so much more than a place to stay when a family’s in need.
She said the organization also offers programming that “helps alleviate the financial and emotional burden that families face.”
Fundraisers like the run keep these programs sustainable.
Skiba has been blown away by the increase the event has seen over the years.
”It’s great. We have community supports, we have families that come out, and it’s just a great way to raise money for a great cause and to celebrate what family and fitness means,” she expressed, adding she hopes to see more growth in the future.
”We hope in five years time we’ll be at 1,000 participants, and raising close to $100,000 would be a great goal.”
Their next fundraiser is the fifth annual RMHCNA Charity Golf Classic: Lakeland Region in Cold Lake on June 15. For more information, contact Skiba at 780-217-6020 or [email protected].
