A Summer At The Ronald Mcdonald House Charity of Northern Alberta
Happy Monday Local Laundry fam!
Tonight we have a special blog post from our brand ambassador, Ben. Ben is sharing his experience as a Youth Leadership Program Assistant Coordinator at the Ronald Mcdonald House and the impact this experience has had on his life and community. Read & enjoy :)
If you or someone you know would like to be a brand ambassador and share your story about community please hit us on with an email to info@locallaundry.ca!
Hey Local Laundry fam, I'm Ben! I'm stoked to share my story with you as a guest blog for Local Laundry as, not only a brand fan, but an ambassador! I'll be sharing my story and my experience within Calgary's local community with the Ronald Mcdonald House.
When I was given the opportunity to write a blog post for Local Laundry I wanted to write about something that had a connection with what Local Laundry promotes: community. Luckily, I had to look no further than the place I am privileged enough to work at, the Ronald Mcdonald House Charity of Northern Alberta, a.k.a: RMHCNA. This summer, I was hired as a 9-week intern serving as a Youth Leadership Program Assistant Coordinator at RMHCNA and already 5 weeks in, it has been the best work experience of my life.
At RMHCNA, our goal is to keep families together by providing them with a place to stay while their child is in treatment. RMHCNA has served families from all across Canada and for durations as long as 3 years at a time. Where my job primarily comes in is through the recreation programs that RMHCNA runs. It is my job to assist in planning and engaging in activities for the kids staying at the house. From these kids, I have learned so much about what community really means. Every day, new families come to the house and have their children take part in our rec activities. This means, that kids are meeting new friends from all across the country everyday which at first I thought would lead to shyness and an awkward silence between the kids. However, from the day I first started to this very moment that I am writing this, these kids have continued to surprise me by acting as if they’d grown up together their entire lives. Looking back, I was naive to think this. RMHCNA is a house that runs on two things: kindness and love. And it is from the kindness and love that fills the house, that makes the families and specifically, the kids, feel completely at home in the welcoming community that is RMHCNA. As a result, the kids are able to interact with each other so much easier and it really allows the recreational time at RMHCNA become therapeutic for them as it allows them to just be a kid amongst other kids despite what they and their families may be going through.
Additionally, from the kids interacting with one another, the parents begin to socialize amongst one another which results in families seeing other families in the house as neighbors within their community as opposed to strangers. It’s incredible to analyze what takes place in the house every day. Families from all different provinces who never knew one another, begin to have almost every meal with each other every day and check in with one another just as a good friend would.
Overall, everyone at RMHCNA brings a bit of the community they are from into the house, which then becomes a part of the community that is at RMHCNA. With my last 4 weeks of my internship, I’ll come across new families from all different provinces and cultures and be able to witness the magic of RMHCNA, that is its ability to make everyone who stays there become immersed into the community that is created as a result of their presence; and I could not be more excited.
Back to Kathleen here! Thanks for joining us on the blog, and as a special bonus Use the code BENLOVESLOCAL for 10% off all apparel on our online store!
Stop in next Monday to see who we have on the blog next! If you are someone you know would like to be a brand ambassador for us and share your story about community on our blog drop us a line! Chat at chaaa next week Calgary - stay local!
