Our meeting on July 22 featured Billy Sorochak CEO, Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Coastal Empire.
He gave a heartfelt presentation on how incredibly meaningful the charity's work is:
"To keep families, close to their critically ill or injured children by providing comfort, care, and a place to stay near the medical treatment they need."
Founded in 1974 through the efforts of Philadelphia Eagles tight end Fred Hill and his teammates to help deal with his daughters' leukemia, along with funding from the McDonalds Corporation, there are now 394 Ronald McDonald Houses in 62 countries, each of which is its own 501(c)3.
The Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Coastal Empire is situated 176 steps away from the Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah. Last year with a staff comprised of primarily volunteers they served 5,190 families, 308 critically ill families, and 4,254 family night stays. Unfortunately, they have 22 families on their waitlist every day.
Not only do they provide a place to stay but they also provide meals, clothing, guidance and comfort for families dealing with a child's illness from newborn to 22 years old. They also provide a hospital hospitality cart which serves the patients two times per week.
A badly needed refuge, they need donations, volunteers and prayers.
Regardless of issue, please let us know if something is going on to prevent you from attending our meetings. We have many members who can help, pray, or just call to lift your spirits.
Club Dues Invoices - please submit payment at your earliest convenience. Several Rotarians have outstanding balances from prior invoices - if you are unsure of who you are, please reach out to Don Kensey, Rotary Club of Bluffton Treasurer.
Do you worry about Alzheimer’s? We do not have a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, but we must find one. Finding a cure starts with you. Every year the CART (Coins for Alzheimer’s Research Trust) Fund gives research grants focused on finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease.
Have you given to the CART Fund this year? The CART Fund is dedicated to raising funds to provide “seed” money for cutting edge, high impact research in hopes of finding a cure/prevention for Alzheimer’s disease. The goal of the CART Fund is to encourage exploratory and developmental Alzheimer’s disease research projects within the United States. This is accomplished by providing financial support for the early and conceptual plans of those projects that may not yet be supported by extensive preliminary data but have the potential to substantially advance biomedical research. These projects should be distinct from those designed to increase knowledge in a well-established area unless they intend to extend previous discoveries toward new directions or applications.
If you would you like to donate to the C.A.R.T. fund, please scan the code below:
The Bluffton Rotary Club has a YouTube Channel! You will find previous guest speakers and other fun videos, so be on the lookout for more content in the future. All you have to do is create a YouTube account and subscribe...with 80+ current members, we can do better than eight subscriber's!! Link:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8TYzr9_xUE8Jfy-lniTt1A
Did you know ClubRunner is now available on your mobile device app store for FREE?!? Once downloaded, use your ClubRunner log-in. This will give you instant access to our member directory, events, news and other important information. Here is a video that highlights some of the features: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFLu08meAHI&t=12s
