Ever Cooked At A Ronald McDonald House?
I wrote a couple months ago about Little Miss's Daisy troop and the cookie program they were beginning. (Ok, we because I am a sucker and was the Cookie Mom.) I am so proud of the girls and how hard they worked from Little Miss going door to door and announcing she loved this more than Halloween to the booth sales where girls sold cookies outside local establishments.
On Saturday, they enjoyed the fruits of their labor. The girls used some of the money the troop made from the cookie program to purchase ingredients to make lunch for families staying at the Ronald McDonald House, and they brought down eight cases of donated cookies for the families to snack on. As I wrote before, this is the true meaning of Girl Scouts.
The girls worked so hard - and this was their sale. At the booths, we parents were there, but the girls solicited customers, they figured out how much customers owed, and they determined and gave change. Their customers were impressed, all the more so because the girls talked to them about what they were doing with the money and any boxes that were donated. The response was impressive. The sheer number of people who gave a dollar towards donated cookies or bought a box for the girls to take to the families shocked me, which is how they ended up bringing over eighty boxes to the Ronald McDonald House on Saturday.
While there, the girls worked hard. They cleaned the kitchen and washed dishes left behind by families before they started working. They made pizzas and a fresh salad, some girls learning how to wash and cut various vegetables for the first time. After the families finished serving, they once again cleaned up, leaving the kitchen cleaner than it was when they started. And best of all? They had fun doing it!
Personally, I was amazed. It's just a couple hours to come cook for the families, and they were so grateful for the homemade pizzas and salad (we used "fancy" lettuce and added several vegetables, which was greatly appreciated by a few residents). It wasn't expensive, and it felt so good in our hearts. There are Ronald McDonald Houses all over the country near major hospitals, and all of them need volunteers to make them work. Do you have time to do something like this, either at a RMH or somewhere else?
The girls are already talking about where they want to donate their cookies and time next year. Somehow, I have a feeling they'll figure out the perfect solution!
4 comments:
What wonderful girls! They learned a lot about preparing a meal and, more importantly, the joy of helping others without expecting anything in return, which is the best way to have self-esteem (in my opinion)!
This was such a great project for the troop. I know the families were appreciative of all they did.
Pat - It was wonderful for them, and I love that THEY loved what they did.
Tara - It was a great project. I know there is a Feed My Starving Children project near us where you can pack meals for people who need them near us, but you have to be older to do it. We'll definitely be heading there one day, too!
What an AWESOME thing for those girls to do, and so young too. The lessons they learned will never be forgotten from that day.
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