After Janet Howe spent twenty-six years working towards professional goals for USGS Eros Data Center she didn’t want a slow-paced retirement. To prevent having too much idle time, Howe propelled her “bucket list” idea ahead of volunteering for a local organization by discussing the dream with friends. A friendship with a Ronald McDonald House board member provided a wonderful connection as the request for additional volunteers to cover daytime hours and support the RMH staff was an expressed need.
“It’s very hands on,” says Howe of her time volunteering at the Ronald McDonald Houses of Sioux Falls. “I like to meet the families and get to know their children. It’s so fulfilling.”
Howe spends upwards of eight hours or more a week answering questions at the house, taking pop tab donations, completing paperwork and visiting with the families. She has even been known to cover busy times that are outside of her scheduled volunteer commitment. Janet had taken on a part-time position at Macy’s over the holidays, but finds that the difference she’s making as a volunteer is a valuable way to make her time count. Her experiences also allow her to share what the Ronald McDonald House provides for families when their children are hospitalized.
“They’re doing a lot of good. I’ve seen how the people are so grateful for a place to stay,” Janet explains. Further, Howe often leaves her days volunteering grateful for her own family’s health and also has a feeling of awe over how the doctors do such amazing work for kids. She finds it unbelievable how much they are able to help them recover so quickly.
In June, Janet Howe will have spent a year as a Ronald McDonald House volunteer, and as the years add up, both houses and all the people connected to the charity will be better for her investment.
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