11 Jun Pat Arellano – Faces of RMHC

One of the great joys of working with volunteers is getting to learn what past experiences and unique sets of skills they bring to the table when it comes to helping meet the needs of families. If you’ve read our blog in the past, you know that among our roster of volunteers on Team RMHC, we have medical professionals, retired teachers, nurses, bilingual folks, among so many others with their own gifts and abilities that they are able to put to good use.

For Pat Arellano, her experience as a caregiver has been a perfect fit when it comes to knowing just how to support and serve the families that utilize the Ronald McDonald Family Room.

” I am a caretaker at heart, I have taken care of others all my life, but I have been a professional caretaker for a couple for over ten years.  That’s what I really enjoy doing – helping and taking care of others.  Even during my red hatter activities, I will find someone who needs help and I am right at home helping them out.  I also have a niece who is in a “Superhero” group and helped connect the group with the RMHC of Amarillo when they were having an event and the superheroes visited the children at the hospitals.”

Paducah is the town where Pat is originally from, but she now calls Amarillo home. Before getting involved with RMHC, Pat looked around at various ways to get involved and give back to the community, and ultimately found the House that Love Built.

“I really wanted to help with a non profit organization and someone recommended the Ronald McDonald House and Family Room to me.  I looked into it and I really like the services that RMH provides for the families that have children in the hospital.”

The best part of volunteering for Pat is having an opportunity to meet all of the many families who drop by during her shift to visit, connect, and take advantage of the many resources and services we provide for families with pediatric patients. Pat always looks forward to our various volunteer dinners and get-togethers we host each year too, which she describes as a great way to make friends with fellow volunteers who are also working to sustain the same mission.

Pat was instrumental in helping bring the “Just Us League” to visit local Amarillo children fighting battles of their own.

During this time of increased social distancing, Pat has been hard at work around her home, organizing closets, removing carpets, refinishing her hardwood floors, and painting rooms. With all of these laborious efforts, she hasn’t had much time to turn on the TV and veg, but you might run into her at McDonald’s cooling off with one of their milkshakes. Of all the places Pat could go once all of our social distancing guidelines have disappeared, she most looks forward to coming back to the Family Room! The feeling is mutual, as we can’t wait to have her back, holding down the fort!

” I just want to help anyone that needs it.  The families using the Family Room have a sick child and it is a scary time in their lives, I just want to be there to listen and support them when they need it.”