Ronald McDonald House of Southern NJ (RMHSNJ) has been able to provide food, personal protective equipment (PPE), and entertainment for families they serve thanks in part to a $16,000 grant from the Community Foundation of South Jersey’s (CFSJ) COVID-19 Response Fund.
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, medical care for many patients whose families relied on RMHSNJ had to continue while others had their care postponed, but they were unable to travel home and as a result. They were forced to isolate themselves in place. In response, the RMHSNJ staff worked tirelessly to purchase and provide food for these families as community chefs were not allowed access to the house, offer entertainment like bingo and trivia with other families through Zoom, and provide safety equipment such as masks and hand sanitizer. The CFSJ COVID-19 Response grant also helped RMHSNJ with the extra costs of sanitizing the house from top to bottom, providing personal trips from the hospital and back to help keep families safe, and holding a 4th of July socially distanced barbeque and lawn sprinkler fun for the kids.
“The grant from the Community Foundation of South Jersey allowed us to help families already in tough situations,” said RMHSNJ’s Teddy Thomas. “Children could not stop being ill or needing medical care. With this support, we were able to feed, keep safe, and entertain all our families while making sure patients could safely get to hospitals for their treatments. We are very grateful for the support the Community Foundation was able to give us along with other South Jersey non-profit organizations in need.”
“We appreciate what the Ronald McDonald House of Southern NJ does for local families, as well as, families from around the world, and we are proud to be able to help them during this unprecedented time,” said CFSJ Executive Director Andy Fraizer. “The work they have undertaken to ensure the health and safety of patients and to maintain high morale among their families is inspiring to see, and we are happy to play a small part in their success.”
The South Jersey COVID-19 Response Fund continues to assist local nonprofits that need support in order to serve communities impacted by the pandemic. To date, the Fund has raised $1 million, but this is not enough to meet the overwhelming need. If you would like to support the only such Fund where donations stay in our South Jersey region, please visit southjerseyresponsefund.org.