Kentucky Derby Trip Won through Ronald McDonald House Fundraiser

April has been an exciting month on our event calendar at The Ronald McDonald House of South Dakota! It began last fall when our Board of Directors decided to hold a Kentucky Derby fundraiser and raffle which all proceeds would be used to benefit the House. A committee was formed and led by Board Members Ben Graham of Bell, Inc. and Kristen Hegg Zueger of Van Buskirk Companies. Anne Hayden and Debbie Curd agreed to co-chair the event and the planning got started! 

The goal was to sell raffle tickets for $100 each and the winning ticket would receive six box seats to the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY. Private air transportation and ground transportation would also be provided. Our Board, committee and staff worked hard to sell tickets in support of the Ronald McDonald House Charities. 

April 18--event day--had arrived! Our ticket buyers gathered at Minnehaha Country Club where they enjoyed Derby inspired hors d’oeurves (crab cakes with cucumber, steak tips, gouda and onion quesadillas and mint julep cupcakes~courtesy of Tonna’s Cakes!). New friends were made and we caught up with old friends as well! We had a very special guest speaker, Debbie, who is currently a guest at our Avera campus Ronald McDonald House. 

She told the guests her story of Jonathan, her precious baby boy who has been at Avera Hospital since his birth. Debbie spoke of her love and appreciation for the Ronald McDonald House—a true resting and healing place for her and her family as they await their baby’s recovery. As Debbie mentioned, there are so many families in various phases of illness that a place like the Ronald McDonald House becomes home, and the other guests become family. The family unit is the most important, and a place for families to spend time, unwind, relax, sleep and take a hot shower while their sick or injured child needs care is crucial. The Ronald McDonald House is happy to be able to provide that home away from home—a safe and calm place. Without the support of the people like our Kentucky Derby ticket buyers, we wouldn’t have the resources to make that happen.

The mingling and visiting among the 90+ guests was enjoyable—but the time had come to pull our winning ticket! As the name was read, guests found that Jeff Ranum from Watertown, South Dakota was the big winner! Jeff received a call with the exciting news that night from Rick Lessnau, RHMC of South Dakota Board President. The RMHC staff called him the next morning. When asked how he was doing Jeff replied “I am doing really well, now that you have called! I just couldn’t believe I'd won when I got the phone call last night, but I guess this phone call means I really did win!?!” YES JEFF! You won! Jeff and his wife Julie have selected 4 others to attend the Derby with them, and we cannot wait to see their pictures and hear their stories!

The success of this event was fantastic and we look forward to the opportunity of holding a similar event next year! What a fun and exciting way to show support of our South Dakota Ronald McDonald Houses. If you were not involved this year but would like to be next year, we can keep you posted through this blog and Facebook. Watch for updates early next year, as we would love the opportunity to work with you on making the 2014 Derby raffle an even bigger event! For those of you who sold tickets, bought tickets, attended the event and offered support, THANK YOU!  We couldn’t have done it without you!