FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Capital Region Community Foundation’s $75,000 impact grant will help ‘Heal the House’
LANSING, MICH. – The Capital Region Community Foundation has chosen the Ronald McDonald House of Mid-Michigan (RMHMM) as the recipient of its $75,000 impact grant for 2014.
The “Heal the House” project is a cohesive plan to rehabilitate the 15-year-old house that hosts families who have critically ill children receiving medical treatment in our local hospitals and clinics. It will transform the House into a place that keeps parents in a positive, proactive mindset to help their children heal. It also will enable more family members to stay at the House.
The cost of this major rehabilitation project accounts for half of the House’s annual operating budget, so the $75,000 impact grant from the Community Foundation was essential.
“We’re honored by this recognition and generosity,” said Matt Dugener, executive director of the Ronald McDonald House of Mid-Michigan. “The impact grant will have a huge effect on the House and the families we serve by helping them stay in a positive frame of mind to help their children heal.”
Dugener said “the House that love built” has been sorely in need of some love itself. “We couldn’t be more pleased and honored to partner with the Community Foundation to see this project from concept to completion. This is going to transform the entire House in such a dramatic way.”
The grant requires the Ronald McDonald House to secure an additional $75,000 in matching funds, doubling the grant’s impact to $150,000 for the organization. Those matching funds are coming from Ronald McDonald House Charities of Outstate Michigan.
“This transformation is going to have an immediate impact on families in our region,” said Dennis Fliehman, president and CEO of the Capital Region Community Foundation. “We’re impressed by the Ronald McDonald House’s work and we’re grateful for what they do to support families as they navigate through health challenges. We’re eager to see this project completed.”
One of the House’s eight guest rooms already has undergone a dramatic renovation. This project will focus on the remaining seven guest rooms and all of the flooring in the House’s common areas, where thousands of people have paced the floors.
About the Capital Region Community Foundation
The Capital Region Community Foundation currently has more than $80 million in assets and was created by the community as a vehicle to support the charitable needs and philanthropic interests of people living in Ingham, Eaton and Clinton counties. The Community Foundation receives gifts to establish endowment funds, and income generated by the more than 400 funds is returned to the community each year in the form of grants. CRCF has awarded more than $1 million in grants so far in 2014.
About the Ronald McDonald House of Mid-Michigan
The Ronald McDonald House of Mid-Michigan is a home-away-from-home for the families of seriously ill children who are hospitalized or receiving treatment at Lansing area hospitals and clinics. It offers an inexpensive, comfortable and private place for families to sleep, eat and relax. Here families find a caring atmosphere where they can receive strength and encouragement from others who are also going through difficult times.