21 May Hearts of Gold
If there’s a recurring theme we seem to find within each person who volunteers with us or supports the Ronald McDonald House in any way, it comes down to one thing: they ALL have generous hearts. That is 100% true. And as we get to know our volunteers more closely on an individual basis, we often find that they are involved in causes beyond just ours at RMHC, because they strive to take part in a wide array of activities that allow them to give back in a multitude of ways!
Neta West King is one of our fantastic volunteers at the Ronald McDonald Family Room. As someone who had spent her life teaching children in a classroom, she always loved kids and wanted to find a way to continue supporting children during her retirement years. Serving families of ill children at the Family Room turned out to be the perfect outlet for her to continue showing her love for kids, but in this way, it was by caring for their parents when they needed it the most.
” I am a “hugger.” Parents are surprised when I hug them, but I think they know I care!”
Neta and her husband, Ernie, just celebrated their 5th wedding anniversary earlier this month! She says that marriage has to be “the most fun thing in the world”, and based on the way these two have been living, we would have to agree! In their first year of married life, Neta and Ernie took at least 25 road trips together! In addition to these leisurely expeditions, they also have embarked on four mission trips together, and hope to do more in the future. Through the Church of Christ’s “Let’s Start Talking” program, they have traveled to Columbia, Cuba, and Guatemala, where they flew in, rode on a dilapidated bus for 3 hours, just to get where they were needed. Neta has assisted as a caregiver, while Ernie helped sterilize medical supplies, and on one particular trip they walked 2 miles to and from their campsites each day to help local residents and teach English through Bible lessons.
Somewhere in between all of these abundantly exciting adventures, both Neta and Ernie have found the time to help as volunteers at the annual Ronald McDonald House Pro-Am Golf Tournament, an event that has been a tradition for our charity for nearly 40 years and helps to raise almost 20% of our annual operating funds.
Originally from Slaton, Neta considers Amarillo home. During this time of increased time spent indoors, she has enjoyed working puzzles, deep cleaning her house, and watching cooking shows. Neta loves ordering hamburgers when she goes to McDonald’s, because they always have so many different ones to try! Church is the place that Neta most looks forward to visiting when this pandemic has passed, and the thing that excites her most about getting back to the Family Room is the chance to meet new families! As for her favorite memory as an RMHC volunteer thus far, it honestly sounds like something that would only happen in a movie…
“[It was] getting stopped by a policeman on my way to volunteer and finding out that his sick child had been served by Ronald McDonald Family Room. I didn’t get a ticket!”
We are grateful to have Neta on board Team RMHC. Not only are we certain that she has touched many lives across the far reaches of the world, but she is doing it right here at home with the amazing families she is able to serve through programs at the Ronald McDonald House!