No Blues at “Beat the Winter Blues” Carmike Cinemas Cares! Hearts

Tennessee’s First
1705 West Clinch Avenue
l
Knoxville, Tennessee 37916
knoxrmhc.org
SPRING
l
2012
Hearts Full of Love
The Sisters in Action
Good things happen when
loving people with huge hearts
embrace the Ronald McDonald House! Jennifer Alexander
and Mary Constantine - the Sisters of the Skillet - are a perfect
example!
In the Fall of 2009 Jennifer Alexander tackled her first project
for the House. As a popular air
personality on local radio station B97.5, Jennifer hosted an
on-air dessert auction to benefit
the Ronald House. Called “Just
Desserts” it was an opportunity
for listeners to bid on yummy
desserts being offered by various
local eateries with the proceeds
benefitting the House. The event
was a hit and last year’s “Just Desserts” auction raised $1,878 for the
House in its third year!!
However, Jennifer didn’t stop her
involvement with the House when
her radio shift ended. To help promote the auction on-air, Jennifer
took it upon herself to learn all she
could about the House and what
we do. She was so captivated by the
spirit of the House that she invited
her co-hort in crime, Mary Constantine, (food editor of the Knoxville
News-Sentinel) to join her in benefitting the House. These two gals,
cooks extraordinaire, are known as
the Sisters of the Skillet. They are
famous for their cooking demonstrations, newsletters, recipes, etc.
In November of 2010 they hosted
their first cooking demonstration as
a fundraiser for the Ronald House.
Approximately once a quarter,
they host a cooking demonstration at Patterson’s Appliance, with
proceeds benefitting our House.
Whenever and wherever these two
gals are cooking, they look for an
opportunity to advocate for the
Ronald House. As if that weren’t
enough, these two inspired foodlovers decided to publish their
own cookbook - The Sisters of the
Skillet Cookbook! Incredibly, they
chose to donate the proceeds
from this cookbook to the Ronald
McDonald House!!
These cookbooks are now
available for $15.00! (Shipping is
an additional $3.00). For information on how to order these cookbooks, please go to www.sistersoftheskillet.com or visit the Ronald
House website. While Jennifer and
Mary consider their gifts to be those
of good cooks who can fill your
tummies, we know their true gift
is the way they fill our hearts with
their love and friendship. They have
truly adopted our House as their
own and we are eternally grateful.
They have found their way into our
hearts!
Carmike
Cinemas Cares!
With great fanfare, Carmike
Cinemas opened Carmike
Foothills 12 movie theatres
at Foothills Mall in Maryville.
On Wedneday, March 7, they
held a Charity Night Public
Opening with the Ronald
McDonald House as their
designated charity.
What a wonderful surprise
when the event netted
$6,455 for the Ronald House!
From the attendance it’s certainly evident that Carmike
Foothills 12 is a huge hit with
local movie goers. While
no Oscars were given out
that night, we’d like to give
the “Ronald” award for Best
Supporting Performance to
Carmike Cinemas for their
outstanding support of the
Ronald House!
No Blues at “Beat the Winter Blues”
There was nothing but smiles and
good cheer at this year’s Beat the
Winter Blues event held on February 4 at Stanley’s Greenhouse in
South Knoxville. This event just gets
better and better each year!! Beautiful and fragrant flowers, unusual
garden gifts, lovely harp music by
Anne Jackson, delicious food prepared and served by Akima volunteers, freely flowing wine - what
more could you want? Our 250
Anne’s Angelic Music
guests would agree that all the ingredients were in place for a wonderfully magical time! The evening
was made even more festive by
the many candles and soft lighting
placed among the plants and the
happy and enthusiastic party-goers.
This year raised the most money ever for the Ronald House $10,400!!! Nothing “blue” about
that!
Some Lovely Gifts
Food, Glorious Food!
The Bounty Arrives
We have been blessed and
humbled over the years by
the generosity and support
we receive from the Farm Bureau. Once again this year,
they opened their hearts and
pocketbooks to the families that
call the Ronald House “home”. On
Febuary 23 members representing
several counties of the Farm Bureau
arrived at the Ronald House with
bags and bags of groceries, gift
cards and checks totaling $3,595.
What a fabulous gift that is to us!!
With the groceries they provided
we are able to fill our pantries and
freezer and our families can partake
of this bounty whenever they need
it! It’s especially touching when you
realize that the Farm Bureau members don’t know the families staying at the House - never even meet
them - yet they are making sure that
these families don’t have to worry
about meals. The Farm Bureau has
Board Update
The Reinforcements Arrive
stepped up to ease their burden.
What a delight it was for the folks
at the Ronald House to host a small
reception as a token of our “thank
you” to our friends at the Farm Bureau when they came to make their
delivery. The Farm Bureau is truly a
blessing to our House.
Kids Do The Darndest Things!!
Art Linkletter said kids say the
darndest things. We find they do
the darndest things! Many folks
reach out to support our House,
but it is especially touching
when it is children extending
their hearts and helping hands.
On Valentine’s Day this year
we were visited by three second grade classes from Concord
Christian School in Knoxville.
These precious children came
bearing gifts - money, food
and kitchen and laundry items.
These children had made various crafts - jewelry and such
- and sold them in their school
Our House
Needs You!!!
Please consider making a
donation to our House this
spring!! We rely entirely on
voluntary donations to meet
our budget. Every gift to our
House is a significant one to
us. This makes a great gift for
Mother’s Day or Father’s Day
and we’ll be glad to acknowledge your honorary donation to your loved one. Even
a gift of $5 would sponsor a
family for one night’s stay in
our House. We’ve enclosed a
remittance envelope for your
convenience – we’d love to
have your support!
Our Table Overfloweth
store during the Christmas season
as a fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House. They gave us a $420
check and approximately $400 in
in-kind gifts. They were so excited to
visit the House and shower us with
their gifts. WBIR TV was on hand to
record this wonderful example of
children helping other children.
We also benefited this year from
the children at Sequoyah Elementary Kindergarten Classes in Knoxville who once again sold paper
bricks to benefit the Ronald House
in celebration of the first 100 days
of school. These “brick” sales netted us $750.10 from our friends at
this local elementary school, and
at 10¢ per brick, that’s a lot of salesmanship demonstrated by these
caring kids!
Full Tilt for the Ronald House
Since the Ronald McDonald House
caters to families of ill children, no
one would be surprised to learn
that many area doctors support our
House. What might surprise you is
to know to what extremes some of
these doctors go!
On February 24 The Valarium on
Western Avenue was the scene of
“Doc Rock for Health - The Ultimate
Battle of Physician Bands”. These
doctors turned musicians took an
evening off from healing and went
to jammin’ - all for various health
related charities. Much to our delight, the band “Full Tilt” performed
for the benefit of the Ronald House
and raised $911 on our behalf! What
a fun way for these docs to let off
We are delighted that Mark
Gaylord and David Martin
have returned to our Board
once again and we also want
to officially welcome newcomer, Sheila Barnett, into
the fold. She’s no stranger
to our House, though, as
she comes each month with
KAMA to share her culinary
talents with our grateful
families and works tirelessly
on the Doc Rock fundraiser
that we’ve benefited from for
several years now.
Upcoming
Events
There is always something fun
brewing at the Ronald McDonald House!
Here are some dates to
mark on your calendar:
May 18, 19, 20, 2012 - Smoky
Mountain Car Show in
Pigeon Forge
May 26, 2012 - Float-athon at Dollywood’s Splash
Country
June 1, 2012 - Annual RMH
golf tournament at Egwani
Farms
August 4, 2012 - Annual KFI
golf tournament in Oak Ridge.
Visit our website at
knoxrmhc.org for more event
details and registration!
It’s $ in the bank
some steam, have a good time and
benefit our House, too!! Thanks to
these fun-loving and big-hearted
doctors!
There is just no statute of
limitations for parents to stop
worrying about their children.
From birth ... through childhood illnesses such as measles
& mumps ... to the teen years
and beyond, it’s just what
parents do.
Kerry and Jennifer Ruppe of
Oakdale, TN could never have
envisioned what life had in store
for them on what started out as
a typical Saturday last November. Twenty-one year old daughter Rachel was running late and
they wondered why she hadn’t
called to let them know she’d
be a bit tardy. When their other
daughter called to tell them that
she was probably caught in the
traffic snarl due to an earlier car
accident nearby, they immediately began to worry. A frantic
call to Rachel’s cell phone offered no relief as they immediately got her voice mail. Their
parent’s intuition urged them to
drive to the accident site a mere
3 miles from their home ...”but it
felt like 13”, recalled Kerry.
As they neared the site and
saw the mass of vehicles, bystanders and emergency responders, Jennifer could stand
the suspense no longer and
leapt from their car and went
running toward the ambulance.
Breathless, she asked a state
trooper who had been injured
and their worst fears were confirmed ..... it was their Rachel.
Life Star medics from UT
Hospital’s emergency helicopter
Bill Evans
The Man Behind
The Scenes
Our Bill
Focus on a family: Rachel
A Lovely Rachel
Ready to Go Home
service were already on the scene
trying to stabilize her for the flight
to the hospital. “It was so surreal“,
said Kerry, “as if everything was
happening in slow motion”. Finally
the ambulance doors opened and
they saw their daughter strapped
to the stretcher, her head already
swollen almost beyond recognition.
As she was being rolled toward the
awaiting chopper, Kerry & Jennifer
jumped in their jeep to begin the
journey to UT Hospital in Knoxville
some 40 miles away.
For three nights, the bone-weary
parents attempted to rest in the
surgical critical care waiting room
to no avail. Realizing that their situation would require a lengthy hospitalization, they knew they’d have
to find an alternative to living in the
waiting room. From discounted hotel rooms to friends offering their
travel trailer, all options were being considered until a cousin took
it upon himself to inquire about
the services offered by our Ronald
McDonald House. And for the next
103 days, the Ruppe’s would call our
House, “home”.
Within a month, Rachel’s condition
was upgraded and she was able to
be moved to the Select Care unit
within Fort Sanders Hospital. Once
there, Jennifer was able to stay in
Rachel’s room at night utilizing the
sleeper chair. Progress was slow and
at times frustrating, but through
it all, they relied on friends, family, and their faith. One bittersweet
moment in the middle of their trials was daughter Valerie’s marriage,
where absolute joy was tempered
with reality due to the absence of
Rachel in the wedding party.
Four weeks later in early January,
Rachel was moved to Patricia Neal
Rehab Center located within the
same hospital. A routine was soon
established where Kerry would
drive to work each day, come back
to the RMH each evening to rest
for awhile and then pack up some
dinner for he & Jennifer, and walk
the three blocks to the hospital to
spend time with his “girls”. Once at
For many years the Ronald
McDonald House partnered with
WATE-TV for a telethon. Our goal
was to raise funds for the House,
but equally importantly, we wanted
to inform the public about what the
House did, why it was important and
why you should support it. Instrumental behind the scenes at those
telethons was WATE Producer
Bill Evans. Not only did Bill do an
extraordinary job in producing
the telethons, he took the message of the Ronald McDonald
House to heart.
Bill’s gentle ways, quiet demeanor and delightful sense of humor
quickly endear him to all. He’s also
one of the hardest and most dedicated workers you will find! No
task is too much trouble for Bill and
he can always be counted on for
enthusiastic support! Interestingly,
our fantastically successful Beat the
Winter Blues event is actually the
brainchild of Bill! He relates that
when he and wife Vicki were youngmarrieds, with little extra spending
money, their winter activity to cheer
themselves up was to go visit the
local greenhouse and enjoy the
beautiful blooms! Bill threw out
this idea at a fundraising meeting
and the rest is history!
Bill joined our Board in 2002. He
served two terms on the Board,
including one year as President,
took a year off, and is now in his
third term. Bill brings so much to
the Board. He is the Community
the rehab center, Rachel began
making great strides in her recovery as she transitioned from
making simple gestures in response to questions posed to
her to actually speaking her response. Her feeding tube was removed after five weeks and then
on February 22, after 109 days
of hospitalization, came the day
that everyone had been praying
for ..... her homecoming!!
The road to recovery is far from
over as Rachel needs to re-Iearn
tasks such as sitting up unassisted and feeding herself. But the
ever-determined Rachel has set
the lofty goal of walking again
by summer....and she’s even
picked out her new car, a blue
Volkswagon “Bug”!! If her past
progress is any indication of her
will and determination, there’s
little doubt she’ll accomplish it
with flying colors!
Another goal they have set as
a family is to come back to our
Ronald House to serve in some
way. “We met so many people
while staying at the House who
were dealing with life’s struggles
as we were”, said Kerry. “We initiated some real friendships as
well and want to come give back
some of the kindnesses that we
received. Our lives will never be
the same considering Rachel
will never be the same, but the
RMH has sparked a desire in us
to give since we were touched
by this great organization and
hope we can pay forward the
love and compassion that we
were shown”.
Relations Director for WATE–TV
which keeps him busy in a variety of projects. He has been active on many community boards
in the past and is presently active with the Relay for Life cancer
walks and United Way of Greater
Knoxville. While his roots are in
West Tennessee, he has learned
to cherish East Tennessee and is
an avid hiker when time allows.
His time is busy with two grown
children, a busy librarian wife,
and a precious grand-son Cade.
He and Vicki share a passion for
singing and raise their voices in
the choir at First Baptist Church.
We’re grateful that Bill shares his
passion, his talents and his enthusiasm with the Ronald House!
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Knoxville, TN, Inc.
1705 W. Clinch Avenue
Knoxville, TN 37916
865.637.7475
www.knoxrmhc.org
Return Service Requested
Non-Profit
Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Permit No. 309
Knoxville, TN
2012 Board of Directors:
Jeff Allen
Laura Barnes
Sheila Barnett
Mark Brodd
John Buckingham
Joe Burger
Janell Cecil
Eric Cochran
Bill Evans
Lynne Fain
Keys Fillauer
Mark Gaylord, M.D.
Mary Ann Gibson
Keith Goodwin
Terri Hale
Myra Haynes
Joanne Huddleston
John Hunter
David Martin
Marianne Nichols
Dana O’Kelley
Butch Peccolo
Ed Pershing
John Sheridan
William Terry, M.D.
Jo Cochran, Emeritus
Kindnesses of the He
Heart
ea
Many thanks to the Bearden
High School Key Club for once
again dedicating their Saturdays
during UT Football season to parking cars in our lot during home
games. We don’t know how they
park that many cars in our space,
but they raised $10,850 with
their efforts. Thanks, Bulldogs!!
The sisters of Alpha Delta Pi
are faithfully dedicated to our
House and spend many hours
each year to support us. This
year their fundraising efforts,
including the popular Turkey Tailgate, raised $16,688 for us! Go,
sisters!! We appreciate your hard
work and loyalty to our House!
Dillard’s Department Store has
done it again! Their sales of the
Southern Living Christmas Book
raised $16,954 for the Ronald
House. Thank you, thank you to
our favorite retailer!!!
Common Grounds is helping
again this year by keeping our
grounds mowed and trimmed.
Our yard and grounds are one
of the many things that help us
look and feel like a home and not
an institution. Thanks to owner
John Watson for donating these
services to us.
Nickels, dimes, quarters, pennies you wouldn’t think they
would amount to much,
would you? It’s amazing how
much money we raise each
year because kind-hearted
folks drop their change in
the canisters at local McDon-
Our Year in Review
Hats off to our area McDonald’s Restaurants who supported
the House with the sale of paper
hearts during February of this
year. Thanks to all their efforts, we
received $15,030 from the heart
promotion.
Kudos to Tony Cox of i105 WFIV
radio for orchestrating the production and sale of a CD, Homegrown for the Holidays: Volume
2 as a fundraising project for our
House this past Christmas season.
Thanks to the efforts of Tony and
his team of incredibly talented local musicians, the House received
$1,000 from CD sales.
On March 9th, volunteers from
ADT Security came and volunteered as part of a team building
exercise for the company with
the ultimate goal of feeding our
families a fabulous dinner and
freezing some casseroles for their
future use.
Thanks to all of you who did
your part by helping us in the
recycling of aluminum cans and
tabs. We raised $5,122 in 2011
from these recycling efforts. Pat
yourselves on the back!
Most of our readers have never
stayed in our House - never even
entered our House - so let us tell
you a little about what we did last
year and why your support is so
important to us.
Our house never closes its doors.
We are there 24 hours a day, 7 days
a week, 52 weeks a year. We are
open on Christmas Day (complete
with holiday decorations, cookies
and smiles), we serve Thanksgiving
Dinner to our families, and there
is a 4th of July picnic for our families - whatever our families need.
We have learned that the illnesses
that bring these families to our
doors don’t take a day off, so neither
do we!
Last year our average occupancy
for the year was 75% and the
average length of stay for our
families was 7 days. Some days the
House was full to overflowing and
other days we got to “catch our
breath”. We served 583 families,
totaling 1,664 people in overnight
visits. We had 198 families that used
our House for “day use” only. Those
folks came to the House during the
day to use our facilities for a meal,
Canister Challenge
ald’s restaurants. While it’s not a big
sum from any one person, it makes
a huge impact for our families. In
2011 we received $117,813 in canister collections!!! That amounts
to approximately 1/4 of our yearly
budget!! Please, won’t you consider
putting your change into the canister the next time you visit your
local McDonald’s Restaurant? It’s a
great way to let your children get
involved in helping our House. Look
for canisters, both inside and at the
drive-thru windows. We promise
do some laundry, have a quiet rest,
or some other break from their hospital routine. Over 2,000 people
used the services of our House
last year.
Most people think all of our families have patients at Children’s Hospital, but we served families from
eight different medical facilities
last year. Our families came from
15 different states and 43 counties
within Tennessee. In all, we had 39
different diagnoses that brought
families through our doors. The
top five were premature births,
respiratory disorders, behavior &
emotional issues, diabetes and
gastric problems.
We are proud to report that we
met our budget once again in 2011
as a result of much hard work by
our Board and staff and the generosity of our many, many supporters. We received $75,400 in in-kind
gifts (donated products, services,
meals, etc.) and are elated to report that nearly 6,000 volunteer
hours were donated. 2011 was another successful year for our House
- thank you for your part in making
this happen!
you - your donation does not go
unnoticed!!! It’s an easy way to
show your love and support for
our House that Love Built!!