Mercy Home program manager Gewanda Monroe was scrolling through Facebook when she saw a familiar organization looking for volunteers.

Roughly 10 years ago, young people and coworkers from Mercy Home for Boys & Girls began cooking meals for the families staying at one of the Chicago area’s six Ronald McDonald House locations. Ronald McDonald House provides a temporary home to families of sick children at nearby hospitals. But after COVID-19 restricted the number of people who could be in any Ronald McDonald House facility, the young people at Mercy Home could no longer volunteer at the organization.

So, when Monroe saw that it was resuming its volunteer program, she and seven of our young people signed up. Last April, the group cooked dinner for the Ronald McDonald House location next to Advocate Hope Children’s Hospital in Oak Lawn.

“Having a sick kid in the hospital, you can spend a lot of money just on hospital food and other necessities,” Monroe said. “The youth really were excited to go and serve the families.”

Our kids made barbecue meatballs, potatoes, corn, dinner rolls, and even brought some cake and cupcakes for dessert. Although one coworker who participated is also in culinary school and offered some tips, the kids did the bulk of the cooking.

“My favorite part was when we were all cooking the potatoes and everybody was taking turns,” Alexa, a Mercy Home resident said.

Another resident, Tiera, feels that cooking not only helps the families who stay there, but herself as well.

“I just love cooking as a coping skill,” Tiera said. “Cooking can definitely go a long way with the parents being up there all day; and definitely from my experience, being in the hospital is so long, the food is not always great, [and] having that meal can be like a peace of [mind].” 

While the kids didn’t get to meet any of the children in the hospital, they did see a few families checking in. They also got a tour from the house manager who explained the organization’s traditions. Similar to Mercy Home, they try to make the atmosphere around Ronald McDonald House as comfortable as possible during their guests’ temporary stay.

“I definitely liked seeing the different people who work there when we got the tour and how you can help volunteer in so many different ways and seeing that we could make a difference with that,” Tiera said.

Both organizations share some important values. Like Mercy Home, one of the key principles at Ronald McDonald House is giving back as well.

“For me, it is a matter of empathy,” Damien, another Mercy Home resident, said. “I would want somebody to do that if I were in that situation. Also, I love it when people are so happy and they light up and they’re like, ‘this is so amazing, thank you.’”

Our kids were so moved that they were not just serving the hospitalized children but also the whole family. At Mercy Home, one of our main tenets is supporting the family as well as the child.

“As you can imagine, it’s not just the kid that’s sick. It’s affecting the whole family,” Monroe said. “They want to make sure that the whole family gets supported.”

The trip to Ronald McDonald House will not be a one-time occurrence. The group plans to go back every two to three months while also doing work at the Pilsen Food Pantry and Habitat for Humanity this summer.

“We try to instill in them that pay-it-forward idea,” Monroe said. “We’re fortunate that people are giving to them [our kids], so we want to teach them how to give forward as well.”