Donations and volunteers make new Ronald McDonald House possible in DuPage

Katie Allabough counts herself blessed to have a happy, healthy 5-year-old daughter.

She knows not everyone is so lucky, that there are many families who have a child who is seriously ill.

As the director of the new Ronald McDonald House under construction in Winfield across from Central DuPage Hospital, those families will be foremost in her mind and she'll be doing whatever she can to lighten their load and provide a safe place where they can find support.

“I've had so many families touch my heart in different ways,” said Allabough, a seven-year employee of Oak Brook-based Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana. “The strength they have together is wonderful, and seeing them in the house is amazing.”

The new, two-story Ronald McDonald House, the fifth in the Chicago and Northwest Indiana area, will have space to house 12 families at a time who have children in treatment at Central DuPage, Delnor Hospital in Geneva or ProCure Treatment Center in Warrenville. Families must be referred to the house by a hospital social worker and are eligible to stay if they live more than 10 miles from where their child is being treated. They may remain as long as the child is in active treatment and are asked to donate $10 a night, but only if they can afford it.

John Shultz of Naperville, director of sales of Dr Pepper Snapple Group, a financial supporter of the new Ronald McDonald House, said such a facility might have given his family more quality time together when his son, Michael, was at Central DuPage 15 years ago.

Born with brittle bone disease, Michael broke 250 bones in his short, eight months of life and spent six of those months in the hospital.

“How great it would have been to hang out a little more,” Shultz said. “It connects to me on a personal level, but on a corporate level, it's a great charity.”

Community support

Allabough said the new Ronald McDonald House is being built and will operate with the support of many people like Shultz. Construction began in March.

“There have been so many donations that have made this house possible,” she said. “There have been donations from $1 million to $1.”

Ronald McDonald House Charities agreed to locate a new house in Winfield after being approached by the hospital and its parent company, Cadence Health. The Cadence Health Foundation pledged $5 million of the $6.2 million construction costs and $1 million for the first three years of operating expenses. The Central DuPage Hospital Auxiliary also has pledged support.

Allabough, the full-time director, said she will be there to share laughs with families as well as the hard times. She will run the house with the help of other employees during the day and three resident employees to staff the house at night and on weekends.

The staff will be aided by a host of volunteers. Allabough said 300 people already have signed up to help in ways that could include being family ambassadors working scheduled shifts at the house, providing activities for families and children, preparing meals or helping with house maintenance and landscaping.

For example, one volunteer has offered to provide pet therapy and another piano lessons.

“We have all sorts of different volunteers who bring different skills,” Allabough said.

In-kind donations also are needed. The house will open in Jan. 18, 2015, but a house warming is planned for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 22 when contributors may choose to bring their donations in person.

The new Ronald McDonald House has registries at Target, Bed Bath & Beyond and online at RMHnearCDH.myab.co for furnishings that include everything from bed linens to measuring cups. For Bed, Bath & Beyond, search for No. 541035611 or first name “Ronald,” last name “McDonald.” For Target, search for first name “Ronald,” last name “McDonald,” and look for an Illinois location.

“It's like a wedding registry and baby registry rolled into one,” Allabough said. “Our biggest push right now is the registry.”

Caring people

A native of Arlington Heights who now lives in Warrenville, Allabough got her start with Ronald McDonald House Charities as an intern from Pennsylvania State University. She helped start the volunteer program at the Ronald McDonald House in Oak Lawn and worked at a temporary house while the Ronald McDonald House near the University of Chicago was being relocated.

She has been the lead staff person for the Ronald McDonald Family Room that opened in 2012 at Edward Hospital in Naperville.

“Being involved in Ronald McDonald House, it's more than a job. It's a life,” she said. “The volunteers I come across, I care for like family because they're so caring.”

With 12 private rooms and bathrooms for families, the new Ronald McDonald House also will include common areas such as a kitchen, dining area, play areas for children, living room and laundry room. The informal setting allows families to relax and find support among other people who understand what they are going through.

The relatively small size of this house will aid in that process, Allabough said.

“Families will get to know each other,” she said. “You see families become friends and bond over things a lot of people wouldn't understand.”

Allabough said she's always wanted to help others, a trait her mother encouraged.

“My mother always was willing to let me help anyone I could, from letting me bring cats home that needed a new home to friends who were having a hard time and needed a place to stay,” she said.

A human development and family services major in college, Allabough feels fortunate to find a niche that suits her so well.

“It will be, really, a community supporting community,” she said. “It's a wonderful place every day just because volunteers are giving their time, their precious time, to come and care for families.”

Donations may be made through the gift registries, or by contacting (630) 933-4483 or cadencehealth.org/Giving.aspx.

How you can help

The Winfield Ronald McDonald House is collecting donations of new household items to help make the facility more like a home. You can choose items to donate from the following registries.

• Target: <a href="http://www.target.com">target.com</a>, search for first name “Ronald” and last name “McDonald,” and look for an Illinois location

• Bed, Bath & Beyond: <a href="http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com">bedbathandbeyond.com</a>, search for first name “Ronald” and last name “McDonald,” and choose the registry 541035611 for Ronald McDonald House near CDH

• Ronald McDonald House wishlist: <a href="http://www.rmhnearcdh.myab.com">rmhnearcdh.myab.com</a>

<b>Community Open House</b>

<b>Why:</b> Contributors may bring registry and wishlist items to donate in person

<b>When:</b> Saturday, Nov. 22

<b>Where:</b> Ronald McDonald House, 0N150 Winfield Road, Winfield

<b>Info:</b> (630) 623-8366