30 Apr Giving from the Heart
Even before COVID hit, we had already been experiencing a solidly busy but still amazing and joyfully productive year at the Ronald McDonald House. While continuing to focus on raising support for our capital campaign and keep operating all of our programs, we managed to move out of the House completely, set-up a temporary home at the Winchester Apartments, and then break-ground on our new House, to allow us to better meet the needs of families in the Panhandle.
All of this would not have been possible without the tremendous support of our donors, volunteers, and community advocates. We believe that each and every one of us has our own unique set of skills, gifts, and abilities to bring to the table. For our dedicated volunteer Karen Kaiser, her giving heart has to be her biggest gift of all! (Though granted, we actually have not heard or sing or seen her dance…yet.)
Not long after she began her volunteer service, Karen quickly became one of our “go-tos” for just about any project that would arise, as she has always been eager and willing to help out wherever needed and help us fill in the cracks with whatever needs arise. From assisting with tasks in the office to helping get rooms ready for families, offering supplies to help families out during COVID, working with our staff during the big move, finding raffle items for volunteer appreciation events, Karen is always up to the task. Each month our entire staff gets together for a group meeting, and Karen has helped us out by covering our front office during that window of time so that our full team is able to circle up and discuss all of the business going on at the House.
A Tulia native, Karen now calls Amarillo home, where she runs a small-business, Kaiser Insurance. Karen had been looking for a place to get plugged in as a community volunteer for a while and thought RMHC might be a good fit, which she said ended up being right. As for her favorite aspect of serving as a volunteer? She says:
“[It’s] the kindness and concern for the families and the volunteers. It is a stress relief for me, I am doing something I love and enjoy.”
Karen has been taking all of this extra time at home during the shelter-at-home guidelines to focus on a deep clean of her house…something that has probably sat on a lot of our to-do lists and continues to sit on our to-do-lists! As far as entertainment goes, Karen has been catching up on Hallmark Channel and UpTV for some r&r time. She most looks forward to getting to come back to the Ronald McDonald House of all places once this pandemic passes!
If you run into her at McDonald’s, it is likely she will have an order of their world famous golden french fries on her tray. Karen is an avid fan of the local food scene in Amarillo, and the odds are pretty high that you just might run into her dining out with her husband Ron on any given evening after restaurants have returned to normal operations.
Thank you for blessing the families of RMHC with your giving heart, Karen! We are blessed to have you on #TeamRMHC!