Charity days at Ronald McDonald House

9 January 2023

By Sally Maciver

3 minute Read

Category:

Charity

For me, one of the most memorable parts of 2022 was Dragonfly’s involvement with Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC).

Ronald McDonald Houses are located as close as possible to a specialist children’s hospitals across the UK. This allows families of hospitalised children to live minutes from their bedside while maintaining as normal a ‘home life’ as possible.

Their amazing work spoke to all of us at Dragonfly. After reaching out via LinkedIn, we arranged a way that we could support RMHC, with three incredible charity workdays at our local Ronald McDonald House in Edinburgh. This is what we got up to…

Day 1: The great creative outdoors

On our first visit to Ronald McDonald House in Edinburgh the team had a tonne of fun unleashing their creative side! Three groups of Dragonflyers were tasked with taking the rooftop garden to an even higher level. We potted a beautiful mix of plants and flowers, created bright and inspiring wall paintings, and even added a mirror wall which made the space feel lighter and bigger than before. Perfect for families to enjoy some outdoor time and fresh air together.

Day 2: Good clean fun & games

When we returned to Ronald McDonald House we got stuck into cleaning the games room and updating the welcome message that greeted families on arrival. We also gave the supply cupboard a good sorting out – not our favourite task to do in the Dragonfly office but one that felt so much more rewarding for a good cause like this. By the end of the day the entire lounge area was ready to receive families in desperate need of a safe space for comfort and relaxation.

Day 3: Decking the halls

Our third and final visit was a very festive one. With Christmas on the horizon, it was time to deck the halls of Ronald McDonald House. It was really heart-warming to see the space becoming more Christmassy. Some families are 100s of miles from home. Removing the feel of a hospital and keeping the magic alive at this special time of year clearly means so much to them.

Giving Tuesday

Every year, each Dragonflyer gets to choose a cause that is close to their heart that the agency will donate to on their behalf. Having been so touched during our visits, and knowing all the good they do, I asked Dragonfly to donate £250 on my behalf to Ronald McDonald House. It feels wonderful knowing that following our visits this donation will continue to help support those children and families who rely on their care.

Final thoughts

This whole experience was very humbling and emotional for me. The team at RMHC are incredible and are all so lovely and welcoming, and it was massively rewarding to help bring more awareness to the work they do. I lastly want to say thank to all who have done, and continue to do, amazing work for children and families in need at RMHC!

If you would like to help, donate or learn more, please visit rmhc.org.uk

About the author

Sally is a Senior Account Manager and has been with The Dragonfly Agency for 5 years now. Sally brings a fun loving attitude to all aspects of the job, and perfectly bridges the gap between the client and supplier ensuring a smooth running campaign. Sally has a great understanding of the marketing mix, and really enjoys working with clients to ensure every campaign is planned in the best way.