Giving a Simple Pleasure

When families come to the house, it seems like simple pleasures are lost. They focus so much time on their child that they begin to lose sight of those things that quickly become luxuries. For instance, a hot, homemade meal is often times one of those lost, treasured items. Hospital and fast food are no match for something made in a home kitchen! At the houses, we are privileged to have so many great volunteers who participate in our Caring Cooks program, ensuring our families one of those things we normally take for granted.

We have many groups from churches, businesses, and organizations that prepare meals for our families. We have many “regulars,” including the VFW Ladies Auxillary. We see them the first Monday of every month. They prepare everything from spaghetti to hamburger casserole. The ladies have been coming for the past 10 months and see it as a way of helping the community. Michele, who is a member of the auxillary, says they hear lots of thank yous from the families. “I know from personal experience these families are with their children in the hospital so they don't have a lot of time or money to spend on food,” she said. The ladies love doing what they can to help and believe it's good for people to participate in the program—even once.

We encourage anyone to come to the houses and prepare a meal. It really is a small gesture that is important to these families. It is a way to give them a lot of joy in a very simple way!

Please visit www.ronaldmcdonaldsouthdakota.org for more information on the Caring Cooks program.