2016 Annual Report ® Ronald McDonald House Charities of Alabama providing hope, healing, happiness and growth while Keeping Families Close Board of Directors Rick Hanna, Jr. - President Wil Puckett - Treasurer Partner Owner/Operator, RPH Management Inc. dba McDonald’s Birmingham Market President, Renasant Bank Restaurants Frederic Smith, Jr. - Immediate Past-President Keri Till Massey - Vice President Partner, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, LLP. Securities Principal (PSJ), The Agents’ Marketing Group, Inc. Katherine Estes Billmeier Randy Nichols - Secretary Chief Executive Officer Senior Partner, Massey, Stotser & Nichols, P.C. Bob Crawford - Assistant Secretary President, United-Johnson Brothers of Alabama, LLC. Mary Ellen Clark Lori Moler Connie Stein Community Leader VP of Customer Service, Children’s of Alabama Secretary/Treasurer, Brothers Recycling Jack Darnall Santiago Negre Traci Swann Executive Vice President , Brasfield & Gorrie Owner/Operator, SJN McDonald’s Nurse Manager, Pediatric Unit, DCH Medical Center Jordon DeMoss Cheryl Oswalt Senior Associate Vice President, UAB Hospital Shareholder, Sirote & Permutt, LLC. Jeff Sweat Account Executive, CBS 42 Javier Hernandez Andy Peters Chief Risk Officer, BBVA Compass Bank Retired, Wynfrey Hotel L. Dale Thornton, Jr. President/Owner, Thornton & Associates, Inc, Corey Hobbs Eva Robertson McDonald’s Manager, MRO, Honda Manufacturing of VP of Investor Relations, Protective Life Corpora- Alabama tion Mike Velezis Vice President, Legal Services Blue Cross Blue Tammie Howard Robert Sargent Shield Media Director, Angels Advertising Regional Director of Business Development, Element Funding Marianne Sharbel, Co-Founder Jeff Logan Honorary Member Owner, The Birmingham Barons Matt Speare EVP & Enterprise CIO, Regions Financial Mission With diligence, integrity and compassion, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Alabama joins and aids families in their efforts to find hope, healing, happiness and growth, regardless of obstacles placed before them. RMHCA Annual Report 2016 2 Advisory Council Ronald McDonald House Charities of Alabama is proud to introduce its Advisory Council. The members of this council are not only dedicated supporters of the Ronald McDonald House, but also support various programs throughout the Birmingham region that strengthen the community and positively impact the areas of health, education and the arts. The Advisory Council’s dedication to the mission of RMHCA is evident through their continued financial support as well as through their history of volunteerism and commitment as past board directors of the Ronald McDonald House. Several of these individuals were founding board directors and have been advocates of RMHCA since 1979. Members Kathy Baggio, Past Board President Sims Garrison Rick Roth Eleanor Barnes Leisha Harris Mickey Rubenstein Jim Black Jimmy Holloway Todd Sharley Bebe Bugg Debbie Kiker Ernest Stevens, Past Board President Dr. Robert Castleberry David Kimerling Larry Thornton Charlie Collat Sarah Jane Knott Ben Weil Memily Colvin, Past Board President Alan Lott, Past Board President Amanda Wilson, Past Board D Franklin, III, Past Board President Patricia Pritchett, Past Board President JoAnn Gaede President Doris Haver Wilson Mission Partner Ronald McDonald House Charities® has been McDonald’s® charity of choice since 1974. Our McDonald’s support is strengthened through vendors, volunteers, Donation Boxes at the restaurants and support of events. Five of our 2015 board members, one of our junior board members and two of our Advisory Council members are McDonald’s owner/operators. RMHCA Annual Report 2016 3 Staff “If it weren’t for the Ronald McDonald Katherine Estes Billmeier House, we would have slept in our Chief Executive Officer van,” said Tammy Fontenot, mother of Tiffany who is being treated at Children’s Chris Ellis of Alabama for a birth defect. Tiffany Director of Operations was born with her bones and organs fused together, which requires multiple April Dickerson surgeries to correct. The Fontenot’s travel Director of Family Programming to Birmingham from Andalusia for her treatment and sometimes we have not Stephanie Langford had a room available for them. Last year Marketing & Communications our waiting list averaged 8 families per Director night. One night last summer we had as many as 55 families on the waiting list for a room. Kathy Robson Director of Development So this past year we put together a team of volunteers, led by RMHCA Board members Jeff Logan of the Birmingham Barons Erin Bowman and Wil Puckett of Renasant Bank, to help us raise $7.5 million Operations Specialist to expand our House from 41 to 73 rooms. Thanks to you we met the initial goal and I am excited to announce that we broke Jaime Collier ground on our addition in March 2017! However, as is inevitable Family Care Specilist II in a capital project of this scope, further opportunities to better serve our families come to light that exceed the initial budget. We Brianne Denley will continue to raise funds to support opportunities like a new Communications Coordinator and improved playground, an expanded interior playground and furnishings for the guest rooms. Katie Hannah Special Events Coordinator While completing the addition, we will also be adding a Ronald McDonald Family Room adjacent to the NICU unit at UAB Hospital. Mary Claire Hunter The Family Room will have 3 sleeping rooms and will be a fully Development Manger staffed place of respite for families with preemies. Lisa VanZandt We also adopted a new mission statement that better encompasses Business Coordinator our vision and values: “With diligence, integrity and compassion, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Alabama joins and aids Emily Wright families in their efforts to find hope, healing, happiness and growth, regardless of obstacles placed before them.” Volunteer Coordinator It is such an exciting time for us as we prepare to nearly double our Family Care Specialist capacity so that families like the Fontenots will not have to sleep in Mary Crooks their cars while their child is undergoing medical treatment. Thank Suzie Dee you for volunteering, and thank you for giving. You have been an Yarlleina Hardy integral part of keeping families close. Runda Heard Ann Jackson Stephen Lake Patsy McCall Cheers, Jonathan Patrick Cynthia Thompson Kathy Willis Maintenance Katherine Estes Billmeier Abraham Austin Chief Executive Officer RMHCA Annual Report 2016 4 Programs Ronald McDonald House Our Ronald McDonald House provides a supportive home away from home for families and their children who are receiving medical treatment at Children’s of Alabama, UAB, or other area hospitals. We provide guest families with all the comforts of home – plus a local support network – so they can focus on their child’s healing. Without our House, families might have to sleep in the hospital lobby, a child’s hospital room or even in their cars, as most families cannot afford a hotel for weeks or months – especially under the financial stress of mounting medical bills. As Birmingham’s only affordable temporary housing facility for sick children and their families, the doors of our House are open 24 hours a day, 365 days each year, to welcome families of sick or injured children. Staying close allows parents to better communicate with their child’s medical team and provides adherence to complicated treatment plans. Celebrating 37years in 2016, our House has welcomed an estimated 39,000 families since we opened in 1979. Ronald McDonald Family Room Our Ronald McDonald Family Room at DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa provides an oasis of calm for families, while increasing their ability to advocate for their child. They can find comfort, care and support without leaving their child’s side. Our family room is steps away from the NICU and provides families with a healing respite from the beeping machines and stress of the hospital environment. Amenities include laundry facilities, computer with free WiFi, comfortable chairs, flat screen television along with a library of DVDs and a fun playroom for siblings. RMHCA Annual Report 2016 5 Happy Wheels Cart Happy Wheels is a new and innovative program that delivers the comfort and care provided by the Ronald McDonald House to children and families while they’re at Children’s of Alabama. Families at the hospital, including siblings, often wait long hours or even days without being able to leave the hospital or even their child’s bedside. Happy Wheels volunteers move throughout the hospital and offer items such as toiletries, drinks, snacks, books and age-appropriate activities and toys to patients, siblings and their caregivers. We are so excited to be partnering with Children’s of Alabama to bring our Happy Wheels cart into the pediatric areas of the hospital two to three days a week. Children’s provides excellent care for patients and families and this is a great addition to their family-centered care. RMHCA Annual Report 2016 6 Tiffany’s Journey No More Air Mattress We’re often asked what Ronald McDonald House Charities of Alabama can do for families. For Tiffany’s family, we give them a safe place to stay when the alternative is sleeping on an air mattress set up in their family vehicle. Born premature, Tiffany fought through a heart condition, underdeveloped lungs and a submucous palate. She was diagnosed with autism and A-Pert Syndrome, which creates a serious deformation in her bones. For Tiffany, this means her fingers are fused together and her feet are malformed. “The prognosis that we were given was that she would never walk or talk and that she would be a dwarf. Needless to say we were heartbroken,” Tammy, Tiffany’s mom, said. “With all that my daughter was going through it made it difficult to leave her bedside.” Tiffany has endured skull reconstruction surgeries that her family hopes will help her breathe better and leave more room for her brain to grow. She has also had several surgeries on her hands to create fingers. Through it all, Tammy says her daughter finds joy in life.