Internship Journal Entries

1/11/2016 (11am- 1pm)

Walking into the Ronald McDonald House, I was apprehensive about this
opportunity as it was not my first choice of placements and a very new line of work. I
currently work for the State of Delaware, so a nonprofit organization is a new concept to
me and would be a learning curve. I was excited about meeting new people and the
learning how the organizations mission and their role in the community. I have heard of
the Ronald McDonald House before but have never participated in any events or
volunteer opportunities. I was welcomed by Dawn, the special events coordinator who
provided me a name tag that all staff, volunteers, and residents are required to wear while
on the campus. She showed me the office space that I would be working at during my
time with the organization. The desk space was located adjacent to the main office and an
area of high traffic. The space was a good size and afforded me the opportunity to interact
with staff and volunteers who passed by. I met a few volunteers and learned about their
roles within the organization. I learned that volunteers work in three-hour increments. I
assisted Dawn with American Girl Doll auditions and organized applicant folders into
specific categories for future planning of this special event that is hosted annually in
March. I was informed that throughout my internship, I would learn about fund
development and the organizational development of two special events that contribute a
significant about of funds to the organization. The American Girl Fashion Show takes
place in March at the Chase Center on the Riverfront and the 5k Run takes place in April
on the Riverfront. After my first day, I was intrigued to learn more about how a nonprofit
organization is managed and the organizational structure. After leaving for the first day, I
felt a little more at ease about my placement at the Ronald McDonald House.
1/12/2016 (2:30-6:30pm)
Prior to arriving at my internship, I was aware that I would be engaging in
researching prospective donors as well as attending a committee meeting for the 5k run. I
was provided a list of potential donors to research to identify if their company
participated in community giving. I was not provided any guidance or direction of how
the organization typically conducts this type of research. I struggled with knowing what
the expectations were and what strategies were typically utilized for this line of work. I
was self-conscious in asking these types of questions to Barbara (Development officer),
as I do not know her very well and thought is this may be a typical expectation that a
graduate level student should know. I had previously taken a class where I completed
mock research on potential donors but this was a completely new objective for me to put
it into practice. I was not clear if there was an organizational policy on how to initiate
conversation with potential donors and I felt a lot of anxiety and pressure to not mess this
up for the organization. I did my own background research on each company name I was
provided and researched employees of each company. I knew that the next time I would
engage in this objective that I would need to clarify with Barbara what, if any, are the
procedures or policies associated with research development. I know that I will need to
be more assertive in asking questions and try to get a variety of opinions from other staff

or volunteers. I enjoyed participating in the 5k committee meeting, which was held via
telephone conference. I was a little caught off guard when Barbara introduced me (with
the wrong name) to committee members and I was asked to give an overview of my role
interning with the organization. I was pleasantly surprised by the warm responses I
received and was given some feedback from the committee members. There were a total
of 6 committee members associated with the 5k run and all members had served on this
particular committee for several years. One committee member had to resign for this year
but was proactive in reaching out to Triple AAA (place of employment) to obtain a
replacement. The committee members were from diverse backgrounds and ranged from
an executive of a nonprofit to a lawyer. I took notes throughout the meeting, which ended
up being need for minute notes as the recorders computer broke. Barbara asked that I
send out the minutes of the meeting to all committee members, which I happily agreed to
and felt a sense of belonging to the team.
1/18/2016 (9-2pm)
Today I was able to meet more team members and gained a better understanding
of the Ronald McDonald House as a whole. There are two divisions within the
organization, which are the development and operational staff. For the most part, these
are separate entities and only Dawn (Special Events Coordinator) crosses sides, mainly
because she has been with the organization for approximately 16 years.
I met Emily, the resident manager who works in the late afternoons into the
evening, from Sunday through Thursday. She has a three-bedroom apartment on the
campus of Ronald McDonald House. If the resident manager is off duty, than the
operational staff rotate coverage. Each operational staff member typically has to cover a
managerial role every 6 to 7 weeks and mainly just has to be on-call via phone. Most
situations can be handled over the phone unless the police are being called for a domestic
dispute or drugs on the premise. Families are dealing with sick children and tensions
can run high at times, especially if children are not given a good prognosis.
I began date entry on the American Girl Doll auditions and organized the
information onto a spreadsheet. After completing this task, I continued my research on
prospective donors. At no fault of my own, felt little guidance in this process and felt that
I was on my own in figuring out the next steps. Barbara came into the office around noon
and invited me to lunch. Apparently, the organization eats lunch all together in the
kitchen area, which I felt was a fantastic idea. Staff are provided a free lunch everyday,
which consists of left overs the volunteers made the night before. I think this daily
gathering instills an organizational culture that creates positive social interactions among
staff members. I took this opportunity to meet the rest of the staff and asked questions
about their role within the organization as well as any challenges they face. Staffs were
not able to communicate any challenges, so I was unsure if I caught them off guard or if
they were not willing to disclose. One individual I met, Laura, is a part-time volunteer
that helps out with clerical work on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Also, I met Erin
Ryan, who is the community and family room coordinator. Ironically, I attended high
school with her and she graduated a year behind me. After lunch concluded, I over heard
staff talking about a staff meeting so I asked Barbara if I was able to attend and she
gladly said yes. I would have to say that the Ronald McDonald House is pretty organized

when conducting meetings, has an agenda readily available, and sets time limits to each
objective. Pam Cornforth, CEO, led the meeting and had developed four annual staff
goals. Staff members volunteer for a particular goal they are interested in and mostly
match their current job functioning. A lot of discussion was centered on developing a plan
to celebrate the houses 25th anniversary, training all volunteer to be good ambassadors of
the organization, increasing fundraising efforts, and strengthen safety and emergency
preparedness of the house. Next, the resident manager discussed statistics from 2014 and
2015 in order to plan for 2016. The house completed renovations during 2015, which
significantly impacted their intended outcomes for 2015. In addition, AI
DuPont/Nemours Hospital also underwent renovations and added single bedside rooms to
the NICU. Then, Barbara discussed the selling of Blarneys, which is essentially the
house mascot and is a little dog with a shamrock on the paw. The goal during part of the
meeting was to brainstorm ways to sell the Blarneys either at events or at restaurants.
The meeting concluded with safety of the parking lots due to the colder weather
conditions and ensuring guest safety. After the meeting concluded, Barbara had said the
management staff was having a meeting. I again asked if I could attend but Barbara stated
she did not think this was a good idea, as she did not anticipate it to go very well. I did
not push the issue but asked to be incorporated in any future meetings to gain various
perspectives specifically from a leadership standpoint.
1/20/2016 (9am-12pm, 5:30-6:30pm)
Coming into the Ronald McDonald House, I was growing more comfortable with
my routine of settling in and conversing with various volunteers at the front desk (some
nicer than others). Barbara provided me with a task that Dawn, the special events
manager, had left. She wanted me to review rejection letters to the models that auditioned
to be a part of the American Girl Doll Fashion Show. After reviewing the letters, I stuffed,
sealed, and stamped the letters to be mailed out. During this project, I met with Megan
Racobaldo, who is the social worker for the entire house. I was able to gain a better
understanding of her role within the house and how she connects with the hospital staff.
She identifies resources for the family, resolves house issues, and facilitates monthly
house meetings. I expressed my class project of cultural immersion and identified that the
family meeting may be a good opportunity to learn about the different demographics the
house services as well as a learning experience to participate in a group that I have never
been a part of. This meeting typically is held the first Tuesday of every month but due to
the social worker being on vacation, she stated it will likely take place on 2/16. She
invited me to come back to the house tonight to participate in a family experience
committee meeting. I accepted this opportunity and returned to the house that evening.
The social worker led this meeting and in attendance were 4 committee members, the
CEO, and the resident manager. The purpose of this meeting was to review exit surveys
completed by families, review occupancy statistical data, view the new renovations,
review necessary safety policies, and alternative survey for families. The exit surveys
have been beneficial in the organization obtaining necessary feedback from the families.
With this information, the house changed from the use of laptops to iPads and changed
the cell phone room or a lactation room. The statistical data reflected the renovations
completed over the summer in the house. The organization had to turn away 87 families

and half of these were in August. It was reported that the organization could have seen a
decline in the number of families served due to insurance issues the hospital is working to
sort out. United Health Care is not currently accepted by the hospital and has impacted
families who utilize this insurance provider. An interesting topic that was necessary to
discuss was the legalization of medical marijuana in Delaware. This law that was recently
passed will impact the houses policy on illicit dugs. The house cannot bend on the no
smoking policy but wanted to know what to do if an individual was smoking medical
marijuana in their rooms. The typical protocol if any staff smells marijuana is to call the
police. Andre Littleton, representative of AI DuPont/Nemours stated that the medical
marijuana comes in may types of forms. She was going to connect the house with a
representative from the hospital to learn more about medical marijuana but encouraged
the house to speak with State officials to develop new polices. She did inform the
committee that anyone who is prescribed medical marijuana is given an identification
card but how can the house legally ask for this without discriminating against a family.
This concern was introduced and the discussion will continue at the next meeting. The
final topic was background checks and the need for instant checks as sometimes there are
families that just walk in. Currently, the house does run names through the sex registry.
The house will need to develop policies associated with background checks and what will
constitute a guest not being able to stay at the house. Other Ronald McDonald Houses
conduct background checks on their families and report this is an asset. Of concern, is
what charges would warrant a guest not being able to stay at the house and to what
extent is this discrimination? The house has implemented more safety features within the
last year such as all volunteers, staff members, and residents wearing an identifiable
nametag. In addition, volunteers are required to wear a big yellow tag upon entry into the
house. At the end of the meeting, I stayed back with the site supervisor to discuss
planning for my internship. She asked how things were going thus far and that should be
like for me to learn about strategic planning. She provided me with several opportunities
to participate in a Board of Directors meetings and a Finance Committee meeting.
Journal 1/27/2016 (7:30-11:30am)
This morning attended a Finance Committing meeting that focused on the financial
statements from last year and the annual operating budget proposed for this year. Going
into this meeting, I was not particularly familiar with financing terminology and the
fundamentals associated with it. There were seven members present in person, one
member participated via phone, and there were four members not in attendance at the
meeting. The majority of committee members had financing backgrounds except one who
was a lawyer. Majority of the members have also served for a long period of time on the
board dating back to 1993 when it was first established. I was completely overwhelmed
when the agenda was passed out and attempted to read over the financial data. Perry, the
chair holder, led the meeting to discuss the preliminary financials through 2015 and Rich
Fagan presented the investment committee report.
Initially, when the Ronald McDonald House was founded, the organization managed
$300,000 in assets. As the organization grew, they worked with outside agencies such as
vanguard to assist in managing the growing assets. Premiums began to increase and thus

restricted the budget so in 2009 the finance committee took over the reins and manages
over four million dollars in assets at this time and has the ability to do so given the
experience on the committee.
Next, the renovation project was discussed and the committee was impressed that over a
half a million dollars were saved. The anticipated and approved budget was 1.3 million
dollars to renovate the 2nd floor wing of the Ronald McDonald House. The estimated
project cost $800,000 and was contracted through relationships with the Marriott. The
project was completed in 82 days, which was impressive due to the anticipated 6 month
wait time. The executive directors stated that the project could have been completed
sooner if the furniture was delivered on time but it was coming from overseas and there
was mold issues that were unexpected and not planned.
I spoke with Perry Beberman, who is the current chair of the finance committee, after the
meeting. I asked how he was elected to be the chair. The executive director stated that the
executive committee nominates chairs of the various committees. The chair holders can
serve 2 (3 year) terms before it is necessary to make a change. The next chair for this
committee will take over in April 2016 and will be Christine Randolph who currently
serves on the committee. Most members have held chair positions either on this
committee or another.
After the finance meeting, I met with the site supervisor to review the learning contract
and made the necessary changes. She will assist me in connecting with members of the
board of directors so I can interview them to understand their roles and how they became
a board member of the organization. I will meet with the executive to discuss strategic
planning and review the information from the financing committee. The executive
director has a finance background, which assists her in better understanding the
operational functioning of the organization.
Journal 1/28/2016 (1-5pm)
I am getting more and more comfortable with the organization and daily routines of the
staff members. I spoke with Dawn, special events manager to gain a better understanding
of the fundraisers and how much of a resource they are for the organization. The
fundraiser that raises the least is the American Girl Doll Fashion Show. The fashion show
produces $128,000 but the cost associated is approximately $83,000. The tickets used to
be $35 and were raised two years ago to $37.50 for both adults and children. The
individuals are treated to a brunch/lunch and it appears the cost of the food is substantial
compared to ticket prices. There are American Girl Doll products that are for sale at the
show and the house gets a percentage of the sales.
I listened to voicemails and returned the phone calls of individuals who wanted to
purchase tickets for the show. I entered all data information into the computer system and
input this on the excel sheet.
I spoke with Laura Marek, the Southern DE advancement officer and grant writer. We
talked about her role within the organization and I gained perspective about grant writing

and fund development. She works from home majority of the time and reports to the
house twice a monthly. Occasionally she attends meetings across the state of Delaware
and will be in attendance at the development meeting on 2/3. I plan on meeting with
Laura to see how she plans to complete prospect research and how she engages initially
with potential donors as well as how she maintains those social relationships so
corporations and individual donors continue to give. Laura also provided me with the
employee handbook she received so I could look it over. There are also policies and
procedures on organizational management, which I would need to get from the CEO.
Journal 2/2/2016 (1-5pm)
This afternoon, I continued working with Dawn, special events manager to continue
learning the process of organizing the American Girl Fashion Show. I managed, logged,
and organized model applications to ensure all aspects of the application were filled out
and proper consent forms were obtained. I returned phone calls to individuals and
families looking to purchase tickets for the show and assisted them with completing their
orders online. I created an excel sheet of consent forms that were missing. After
completing these tasks, I met with Barbara, development director to discuss prospect
research and upcoming development meeting. Tomorrow will be the development
meeting, which will include the daughter of the parents who founded the home, Len and
Dora Dukart. The development committee meets bi-monthly to discuss prospect
corporations. Within this committee are several key staff members in the home and board
members. Last year, only 1 new corporation was identified through Paul Rice (board
member) and this needs improvement. During the past financial year, there was an estate
gift in the amount of $238,000 that provided the house with a significant increase in
funding but this will likely not occur next year. We discussed the upcoming fundraiser,
Change the Luck event, which is a coin jar that will be placed in various locations across
the State. The house in NJ began this campaign and the Delaware House will be
expanding this idea. We brainstormed potential places to get the jar into, which were local
private and public schools. In addition, we were looking into local large day care centers.
I told Barbara that I would gather information about larger daycare centers in the area.
Then we discussed the prospect research. She did follow up with Amy McDeamon from
Tek Solv that I found who was interested in learning how their organization could
potentially give to the house. We worked through the list of people I identified at each
organization to see if she knew anyone personally. During our conversation, I identified
an employee at a corporation who potentially has a daughter who was going to be
modeling in the upcoming fashion show. Barbara and I decided I would investigate this
more as Barbara believes she may know the wife of the employee. I asked her about
emailing and leaving voicemails for potential donors. We decided that I would not leave a
voicemail as I do not have a direct extension to the house nor am I present every day. I
will gather a list of emails that she can utilize as I do not have a house email.
I met with Emily, resident manager to discuss demographics of the house. She keeps
detailed records of individuals and families that utilize the house. She reported that any
family with a child who is a pediatric patient with skeletal dysplasia or congenital heart
disease is the target group, specifically utilizing AI Nemours, Christiana Care, or

CHOPS. In addition, an adult organ donor that is giving to a child can stay at the house.
Patients, who are receiving outpatient care, can stay either the day before or after their
appointment. If the patient is receiving inpatient care, the family has 24 hours after
discharge to check out. The majority of the house is of low to middle socioeconomic
status but they target all socioeconomic statuses. We discussed race, which I was really
surprised about the demographics they serve. 65% of the families served are Caucasian,
16% African American, 9% Hispanic, 5% other, 2% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 1%
Native American. On the check in form, the families can only check one ethnicity, which
she reports limits the finding as there are children who are bi-racial but only one box can
be checked.
The intention is to have families pay $15 a night for their stay but it is considered a
donation to the house not a mandatory thing. The Ronald McDonald Houses mission is
to never turn anyone away. If the house is full, the staff has partnerships with local hotels
to provide families with discounts. I asked Emily about the challenges she faces within
the house. She resides in the house (3-bedroom apartment) but works Sunday through
Thursday. She is on the operational side of the organization and deals with a variety of
issues from crisis to house management. For example, if there are plumbing issues she
will need to address this even if it is after 9pm, which typically ends her shift. In addition,
if there is a crisis where a family needs an immediate room in the middle of the night she
is on call. For example, if a child is in a car accident and flown to AI Nemours, the family
may need an emergency room that night. There are also conflicts in the house with
different families and within families. For example, domestic violence issues have arose,
as tension can be high due to the illness of a child. There have also been drugs on the
premise that she has had to address with families. Next, we discussed the trends that she
sees occur in the home. She reports that the hospital and house are connected and if there
is an influx of patients at the hospital than this will overflow to the house. Then there are
insurance changes that influence the number of patients served. According to Emily,
United owes the hospital $16 million therefore the hospital no longer contracts with them.
This is problematic as Delaware Medicaid continues to utilize this health option. Anyone
who has United Health Options has to go to CHOP in Philadelphia. There is a Ronald
McDonald House in Philadelphia but their waitlist is a lot longer than DE. DE does
require that families live outside of a 25-mile radius of the hospital to qualify for a room
at the house.
Journal 2/3/2016 (5-7pm)
Today I had some anxieties, as this was an important meeting to discuss development
planning and meet new board members. I had planned to interview Paul Rice who is the
chair of the development committee and my site supervisor to find out more about how
they became associated with the house and how they entered their role on the board.
Barbara, who is the development director hosted the meeting and set up with snacks and
wine. I was a little surprised that wine was being served at a committee meeting but at the
same time this was an inviting tactic to have individuals attend the meeting. I assisted
with handing out material for the meeting and greeted a few members. It is a very
awkward thing to introduce yourself as an intern and I felt a little out of place, maybe

because all the members seem to know one another or just do not want to take the time to
get to know someone new. The meeting began as scheduled and Paul Rice who is the
chair of the committee led the agenda and there were five members missing. The
committee had to approve of the meeting minutes from the previous meeting in October.
On the development committee is Barbara Dukart who is the daughter of Les Dukart,
who founded the Ronald McDonald House of Delaware.
Next, the proud of the RMHDE campaign was discussed which asks committee
members to bring new friends into the home to provide a tour and facilitate new
prospective donors. One member connected with Family Shade that was looking for a
place to hold meetings. Seventeen people came to the meeting in the flex room and were
provided a tour after. Then the progress to plan was discussed. This views seven different
focus areas. The focus areas include adopt a room program, major gifts and corporate
donations, planned giving, phone bank/Blarney, corporate sponsorships, renovation
project, and Kent/Sussex Initiative which includes the Red Shoe Society. Finally, the
events for 2016 were identified and were looking for marketing ideas.
Due to time constraints, I only met with Mary Bowler, site supervisor after the committee
meeting. We discussed how she got involved with the Ronald McDonald House. She was
a member of the Junior League of Wilmington where she sold raffle tickets at a local golf
tournament. Periodically, she would volunteer her time to cook dinner for the families.
She was busy raising a family so she could only help out where she could. When her
children got older, she became more involved and was nominated to the board of
directors. On the board you can only serve 2 terms, which consists of 3 years each. She
was then elected to the chair and she will have to step down within a year and a half. She
was then nominated to become the chair of the development committee at one point. The
executive committee nominates chair members to lead specific committees. There are
expectations for board members, which are to attend 75% of annual meetings, make a
financial commitment and be an active participant, and serve on a committee. Finally, we
discussed some of the challenges she faces as well as the strengths associated with being
on the board. The challenges are to take full advantage of all the board members and
there abilities, get more individuals involved, and manage being a board member on
several organizations. The strength are being an active participant in her community and
making a direct impact on families.
Journal 2/5/2016 (2-5pm)
Today I was scheduled to interview Laura Mareek, who does the grant writing for the
Ronald McDonald house as well as focuses fundraising efforts in Kent and Sussex
counties, as this is where she resides. She and the Development Director had a meeting
today at Bank of America and training so she asked to reschedule the interview. I met
with Dawn, special events manager and we organized model applicant folders for the
Saturday afternoon show as well as Sunday morning show. We matched applicants to
their outfits they would be wearing that were donated by American Girl. Then she asked
me to collect information for floral arrangements. She wants to give out bouquets to the
models, which is approximately 125 with each having 8 roses in them. She provided me

with the website she heard about. I had to call Wooden Roses Factory Direct to obtain
necessary information as well as calculated the cost. With a coupon, it was approximately
$223. The goal was to get to 97 cents for each bouquet that was necessary to give out.
Currently the cost averages out to $1.78. After completing this task, I met with Barbara
who was faced with a conflict. She ordered the new hot air balloon (sticker that hangs in
the lounge room that represents donors for the last fiscal year). The person they had
complete this sticker had a large gap between two donors as well as missed three
corporations. The house is having a thank you party on February 12th and needs this
completed by then. I worked with Barbara to contact back the agency that writes on the
stickers so they can coordinate with the person who hangs the sticker who will ultimately
need to come out and fix the problem. Time is the biggest factor as it is unclear if this
correction can be made in time for the thank you party. The next task I was going to work
on for Barbara was advertisements for the 5k run. She wanted some creative new flyers
and post cards that were clear and concise. She provided me the examples of last years
and she was not happy about the flyers or post cards as it contained too much
information. She does not want to send the flyers or postcards out until March 1st. This
presented as a challenging task for me as I do not find myself as the artist or creative
type. I researched other examples that were catching and need to brainstorm other slogans
that represent the purpose of the run. Finally, I discussed one prospective for the Change
your Luck campaign, where a coin jar will be placed in a day care center to collect
change for the house. The CEO stated this campaign would be held from February 15th
until March 15th.
Journal 2/8/2016 (4:30-7:15pm)
I arrived early to my internship and began working on the 5k flyer and post card
until approximately 5:30pm where I attended the Board of Directors meeting. It was
located in the basement of the house and was a bit overwhelming. There are 30 board
members that serve but there were about 5 to7 members missing. Mary Bowler, is the
Chair of the Board of Directors as well as my site supervisor. She began the meeting with
introductions of myself and proceeded to introduce a family that has been staying at the
Ronald McDonald House. This womans story was very moving and you can tell how
this organization has made an impact on her life. This is what the organization represents
and more focus needs to be on informing the donors of how these families are impacted
by their contributions. The woman shared that she resides about 2 hours away in lower
Delaware. She was pregnant and no hospital wanted to delivery her baby due to the highrisk nature of issues. The baby has a hole in his heart, respiratory distress, and an absence
of a corpus callosum. After the newborn received medical care he was discharged from
the hospital. The mother talked with the house about staying 48 hours after the babys
discharge to which the house agreed. During those 48 hours the baby had a seizure and
needed immediate medical care. The baby is currently at AI DuPont Hospital and is 11
weeks old.
I observed the members of the board, which is compromised of mostly white
males ages forty and older. There were a handful of females with the majority being
white. I thought this was an interesting make-up of the board members and thought it

would be important to have a more diverse population of members. I think the board
represents a diverse mix of experiences and career backgrounds.
The guest services coordinator discussed the addition of badges and access cards
to increase the safety of families staying at the house. Each family is given 1 access card
that grants entrance into the front doorway 24/7. Last year, the house added another
safety feature, which was to run all adults through the sex offender registry. Out of the
2100 families served last year, the house identified approximately 15 sex offenders that
were not able to stay at the house. The significant other was able to stay in the house if
they signed a consent from saying this will not allow this person access to the house. This
process was completed in private and most families did not have any reaction to this, as
most adults on the registry were already aware.
Perry, reviewed the both the capital and operational budgets of the house. He
described the finance committee, which is compromised of four board members and two
past treasurers. The individuals bring 20-40 years worth of expertise in the financing,
banking, tax, and audit industry and members have served on this particular committee
from 3-17 years. The added a new policy where any check needs to be signed by two
individuals such as a board member and CEO. Ms. Cornforth, CEO, brings a background
of financing to the organization.
Next, Ms. Bowler discussed the new Longwood Grant where new cultivations of
donors is necessary to continue to receive new money. With this particular grant, the
organization needs to obtain ten $10,000 individual or foundation donations. Currently,
the house has five and is looking to exceed the requirement of the grant. The board
members where dispersed into four groups to brainstorm new ways to obtain donors and
achieve the requirements of the new grant. I joined one of the teams to assist and came up
with one idea, which was to reach out to local universities to identify any foundations.
Other great suggestions were to utilize this as a challenge for businesses or community
members to raise $10,000 so it is not just one individual giving. If a donor contributes
$10,00 they are able to name a room. Another suggestion was to utilize the 25th
anniversary gala as a way to obtain higher contributions.
The last topic that was discussed and brought some energy into the board
members meeting was medical marijuana. The house is smoke-free and this is a
corporation policy as well. There is a small smoking area outside of the house that
individual who smoke cigarettes use. Also, individuals who are prescribed medical
marijuana would not be allowed to bake or prepare any food items that contain this.
Journal 2/9/2016 (4-6pm)
Due to the weather, the American Girl doll fittings were rescheduled until next
Tuesday. Instead, I processed new ticket orders for the upcoming shows and documented
on an excel sheet the tickets sold. I met with Barbara to discuss my thoughts and feelings
about the board meeting that I attended last night. I provided her with some of the
suggestions that were developed by the board members of how to obtain individual
donations. We discussed the dynamics of the board members and the lack of diversity.
The board consists of 1/3 community leaders, 1/3 McDonald operators, and 1/3 hospital
leaders. The house is looking to get more members from Barclays and WSFS. The plan
is to meet with Barbara tomorrow to discuss the strategic planning for the upcoming

Change the Luck Campaign. I have already generated a list of potential placements but
wanted more clarification of the next steps. For the reminder of the evening, I worked on
the postcard and flyer for the 5k race. We wanted a more clear and concise format, which
would be a change from last years. Barbara provided me with some examples and we
discussed what we liked and disliked about each of them.
Journal 2/10/2016 (8-11am)
Today I worked on the marketing postcard and flyer for the 5K run coming up. I
finalized the front of the postcard with the assistance of the development director. We
planned that I would continue to work on the back of the postcard to develop a creative
way to express detailed information needed for the card. I feel more comfortable in my
role as an intern and with the employees of the house. I am learning each of their roles
and responsibilities as well as identify how they lead and work together with other staff
members. I assisted the development director with various tasks that needed to be
completed for the donor recognition event that was being held that evening. We created
thank you bags that contained personal messages from families who have stayed at the
house. This was new for the house to do but I felt that was a personal way to contact with
donors and showcase how their contributions impact the families. Prior to leaving for the
day, I met with the development director to discuss the upcoming Change the Luck of a
Child campaign and how to strategize the implementation of this campaign. We agreed to
meet on Monday and plan how we will divide the responsibilities up. Also on Monday,
we plan to finalize the postcard and flyer for the 5k run so it can be sent out.
Journal 2/15/2016 (8-10am)
When I arrived, I met with Dawn to assist her with planning for the American Girl
Fashion Show coming up. There were fitting last Thursday night so she was showing me
the process to create a program book and what necessary information will need to be sent
to the design that organizes the program books. After I completed entering all the
program ads whether half or full, she asked me to download the pictures from the camera
to the computer. In general, I struggle with technology and needed assistance from
another staff to hook up the camera. After I connected the camera to the computer I hit
the download button and say a few pictures generating on the computer so I decided to go
to the bathroom. Upon returning to the computer, nothing on the screen changed but the
pictures were not able to be located. I checked the camera and they were not on the
camera anymore. I was speechless and embarrassed that something happened to the
pictures. I asked for assistance from the special events manager and she had to get two
managers to assist. After several minutes, the pictures still could not be located and they
even looked in the recycle bin. The special events manager placed a phone call to their
ITT people to see if they could recover the lost photos. I had to leave the internship to go
to work but I felt completely mortified. Although I know it was nothing that I did, I still
feel responsible as I was given this task and the data could not be retrieved.
Journal 2/16/2016 (3-8:30pm)

I felt accomplished today during my internship. I met with Barbara to discuss the
postcard for the 5k as well as identified the details that needed to be changed. I made the
necessary corrections and Barbara was going to send it to the committee for approval. I
then worked on the Change the Luck of a child campaign and designed a cover letter
that will be sent out to select schools that Barbara and I identified. We are targeting large
local day care centers, elementary, middle schools in the New Castle county area. The
campaign is a partnership with 2 Ronald McDonald Houses in Philadelphia and one
house in Camden, NJ. Also, the coin drive is in conjunction with the telethon that will
occur on March 22nd on the CBS station.
I participated in the family meeting, which gave me a chance to meet the families that are
currently residing in the house. There was a decent turn out of family members. They
hosted the meeting at 5pm right before dinner was going to be served in the dining hall.
They had the families sign in as well as entered each family into a raffle. At the end of the
meeting, a family is randomly selected and wins a gift card to a local restaurant. The gift
cards are donated by outside individuals and encourage the families to take a break from
the stress of everyday life. The families were provided the option to share some
information about themselves, how they ended up at the house, and how long they have
been there. For the most part, families were open and supported one another when they
were sharing. The social worker and resident manager lead the meeting to discuss some
house rules that have become a concern. There have been reports of drinking and
substance use in the house and the staff is investigation. If staff continue to get reports
than they will have to go through the guest rooms. At the end of the meeting, the house
celebrated birthdays and volunteers made a cake as well as sung to the individuals who
birthday it was.
Then I participated in the fittings for the American Girl Fashion Show. The event
manager had me going over information with the parents to discuss the girls outfit for
the show, when the rehearsal was going to be and what they needed to bring, and details
about the event taking place on March 5th and 6th.
2/18/2016 (8-10am)
I met with Dawn and was assigned to create biographies of the guest models that will be
walking the runway in the American Girl Fashion Show. I am not very creative so I felt
this task was a little difficult. I had to put myself in the shoes of the commentator and
think about what the audience would want to hear. I was able to get through a 1/3 of the
list. Then, Barbara met with me and I added a web link for Races 2 run on the 5k postcard
as well as a few sponsor logos. Barbara is waiting on a response from the a friend on the
government board to see if the two members they selected for Honorary chairs are
running for election this year. The house is supposed to be non-partisan and cannot solicit
or endorse politicians so they have to be careful about this. If neither of the nominated
honorary chairs are running for election then they want to add this information to the
postcard. This is frustrating as Barbara made it clear she wanted the postcard to be clean,
clear, and concise but then they keep asking to add information. Also, she made minor

adjustments to the greetings letter I developed for the Change the Luck campaign and it is
awaiting approval from the President of the House. Once this is complete then I can work
on sending the greeting letter and flyer out to the selected schools we identified.
Journal 2/20/2016 (9am-3:15pm)
Today was very exhausting as I was assisting with the rehearsals for the American
Girl Fashion Show. The process to host this type of event is labor intensive and does not
seem to produce the desired result. So I helped set up the check-in table and ensuring
parents will know where to go inside the Ronald McDonald House. We also set up a table
where parents can pre-order photographs or bouquets for their daughters. Dawn had me
in charge of the collecting the payments and paperwork for the pre-orders. I was
uncomfortable doing so as they take credit cards on their tablet system. It is odd that they
do not give receipts but end up having to manually do this on Monday and email receipts
to parents. There has to be a simpler way to get this paperwork done. The models for the
show ran through a pretend walkway, were provided snack, and were able to meet the
other girls that would be in their show. There was one issue in the house during the time I
was there. A parent of a model showed up and allegedly got out of the car in the park lot.
She was screaming for help from her 16-year-old son who was hitting her. The police
were called but the mother refused to press charges. The girl model coming for the
rehearsal was visibly upset. A mother of another model witnessed the incident outside and
was able to get the model downstairs. All staff kept an eye on the girl who adjusted fine
to the rehearsal and appeared to make a friend, which was helpful to distract from the
incident that took place. So there were two rehearsals that took place today. One from 10
to 12 and the other from 12:30-2:30pm. Dawn provided lunch for all the volunteers that
assisted with the show. After the first rehearsal about half the volunteers left for the day
and she had aligned a group of sorority girls to come to the afternoon rehearsal.
Volunteers are always scarce but the house appears to be able to manage with getting
volunteers aligned in a hurry. Mary Bowler, the chair of the Board of Directors was
present all day to assist as well and she is very hands on in the house. At the end of the
rehearsals I stayed to make an excel spreadsheet of schools for the Change the Luck
Campaign. Barbara wanted this completed so that on Monday she could develop a merger
so the mailing labels could be produced.
Journal 2/21/2016 (9am-2:15pm)
I prepped the rooms downstairs with the special event coordinator to get all things in
place for the models to come practice the rehearsal of the show. She put me in charge of
collecting payment for the photography and purchasing of flower bouquets. I like to think
that I am pretty organized, as I like to keep things in order. Another volunteer, Linda, was
present and in charge of creating a spreadsheet for the photography orders as she pulls the
models for this during the American Girl Fashion Show. She recently retired from the
Colonial School District and we had a lot in common since we both work with at-risk
families. She stated she would be in attendance at the fashion show and informed me to
wear comfortable shoes as it will be a long two days. I have never been before and
parents were telling me about their experiences in the past. There was a mother who

shared her story with me that her husband passed away a little before Christmas time. She
adopted her daughter who is a model in the fashion show. The familys view butterflies as
a representation of her husband and the childs adoptive father and coincidently the girls
outfit in the show has butterflies on it. Also the mother was trying to get a picture
package large enough to give to the childs birth parents and their family. This was a
touching story as it relate back to the work I do with the Division of Prevention and
Behavioral Health Services. This parent was so appreciate for her daughter to have this
opportunity to participate in the show. After the rehearsals I organized all the flower
orders by show number, as the events manager will need to order those quickly. The rose
bouquets are wooden flowers.
Journal 2/24/2016 (8-11am)
First, I worked on reviewing the program book for the American Girl Fashion Show. I
made grammatical changes and reviewed guest model applications to ensure names were
printed correctly. Surprisingly there were a lot of errors in the program book. The printed
names were not correct, some applications were missing, and some names that were
supposed to be on the program were not. I was able to organize all the applications and
provide feedback to the special events manager. This work for the program ad is tedious
and I am not sure she gets a good return on the investment. Also within the program
book, are pages that reflect the sponsorships, pictures of the models, schedule, etc. Next, I
worked on the 5k postcard. Barbara needed me to add WJBR as they were going to be the
media sponsorship and they were having a conflict with having the honorary chairs. For
their 5K in Lewes that takes place in September they have honorary charges, which are
typically politicians. The two honorary charges they asked to be a part of the 5k in
Wilmington were Greg Brady and Greg Lavelle. Greg Brady was running for re-election
so this was problematic as the house cannot endorse a politician and the house is
supposed to remain non-partisan. Barbara, development director, and Pam, CEO were
conflicted. Although, Greg Brady did not have an opponent at this time and elections
were over 6 months away, Pam was concerned that having him as the honorary chair
would show the community we are endorsing a candidate. The problem Barbara has is
this was not an issue last month and both politicians were already asked to be the
honorary chair. After completing what I think is the final postcard, Barbara sent off an
email with this to Pam, the CEO and Dawn, special events coordinator. She stated she
would let me know what the feedback would be from both staff members. I then
participated in a phone conference with Barbara and Doug from Triple AAA. Doug is
replacing Carl, the former committee member that needed to take a leave of absence for
health reasons. Barbara informed him of the other committee members, their roles, and
what they were currently working on for the 5k committee. The focus for Doug is to be
on creating more team for the event as this proved a positive increase in participants last
year. The goal for participants is 1500 this year; Barbara stated the house has been stuck
between 1000 and 1100 the past few years.
Journal 3/4/2016 (7:30-11am)

Early this morning I attended a strategic planning meeting at the Ronald McDonald
House. There were 5 board members that participated along with the social worker and
the president of the house. In addition, the house had hired a consultant to revise their
strategic plan and develop a new 5-year plan. The house previously did this in 2010. Will,
the consultant, lead the meeting and gathered important information from all participants
about what challenges they have faced, what trends to be aware of, and who should be
apart of the committee. The current challenges the house is facing are changes in health
insurance, hospital policies, RMH corporation changes, and different dynamics of the
families being served. The trends that can influence the house is the upcoming political
campaign and increase in children being served at Nemours and Christiana Care. The
members at this meeting would like to see individual from the community, volunteers,
families, and corporate members be apart of the strategic planning committee. This
committee will be developed over the next several weeks. The ideal strategic plan will be
simple and concise with three key goals and several minor goals that we can be worked
on throughout the years. The plan needs to be incorporated into the daily operations of
the organization and staff members needs to be constantly reminded about the plan as
well as the board members. According to the consultant, he feels that there needs to be
several individuals who are visionary thinkers and can be creative. He provided an
example about a individual who is working to see if there is a connection between twitter
feeds and earthquakes in California. After the meeting, I assisted with Barbara with
developing a small email script to send out to potential corporations and individuals who
may be interested in participating In the 5k run/walk.
Journal 3/5/2016 (9am-5pm)
I arrived at the Chase center on the Riverfront to assist in the American Girl Fashion
Show along with learning the process involved in running a large fundraising event. In
the lobby of the Chase Center, the organization had tables set up for different things for
the families. For example, there was a registration area, a doll salon, raffle area, beverage
station, merchandise station, photography, and check in area. There was no clear direction
for families when they walked into the Chase center and I felt it was a little confusing for
models to check in as well as guest models. Parents could sign their daughter or granddaughter up to be a guest model in the show ahead of time and they would be able to
walk the runway during a specified period of time in the show. There were a lot of girls
that brought their American Girl dolls to the show and dressed up for the event. I was
responsible for the dining room operation and resolving any issues. I checked ahead of
time to ensure all the tables were set up with the right number of chairs and place
settings. I made connections with the wait staff that were wonderful during the entire four
shows. They were easy to work with to resolve any issues and very accommodating.
When the dining room opened, I assisted families in showing them where their assigned
table was locating the room as well as ensured they had everything they needed. After
everyone was seated, I assisted with collecting the raffle door tickets as well as setting up
the raffle prizes on the stage and providing the commentators with the information they
needed. CBS news came to the afternoon show and took footage of the fashion show. The
board of directors chair, Mary Bowler, thanked all the sponsors and big donors of the
events by going to their tables and talking with them. I also assisted with the guest

models to ensure they were lined up accordingly as well as returned to their seats after
their opportunity to walk the runway. By the end of the night, I was purely exhausted
from the event due to being on my feet all day. This event takes a lot of time and
dedication from the volunteers that are apart of the American Girl committee.
Journal 3/6/2016 (9:30am-5:00pm)
I felt more confident and comfortable walking into the event at the Chase Center today. I
was assigned the same responsibilities as the day before. There were several last minute
changes made to the dining room but I was able to resolve with the assistance of the wait
staff. The first show was commentated by Charlie from WJBR and she was fantastic. She
really engaged the audience and her tone of voice was pleasant and varied to keep the
audience interested. For the second show, a board member commentated. Although she
was clear and her articulation was great, she was not very engaging with the audience.
Also there were two high school students that hosted portions of the show but they were
far from professional speakers. They did well with articulating their words but their
monotone voices did not engage the audience. I was talking with Linda, volunteer
coordinator for the fashion show and how we could improve the show for next year as the
number of individuals who have purchased tickets has decreased by over one thousand
this past year. Apparently, the organization has to follow certain guidelines and rules in
order to host the American Girl Fashion Show. American Girl provides a script for the
show, provides certain raffle items that the organization has to purchase, and no longer
gives a discount to non-profit organizations. Over the years, the organization has seen a
big change in their partnership with American Girl. The Ronald McDonald House in NJ
hosts the same AG fashion show and it is similar except that they provide ice cream as
their dessert instead of cookies/brownies. I spoke with Arlene who is the Stage Director
and has been in this role for 12 years. We discussed new ways to get ticket sales up and
how to involve the audience more. Some ideas we had were to make a runway for girls
who come to the show with American Girl name on it, having more audience interaction
with families, getting their feedback on the events, increasing the music during the show,
and having smaller interactive tables in the dining room.
Journal 3/8/2016 (2-5pm)
Today was a little chaotic at the house due to the American Girl Fashion show being over.
There were clothing items that were waiting to be sent back to American Girl. Dawn and
I discussed our thoughts about how the event went and I provided feedback from an
audience member as well as my own thoughts about what could be improved. A common
thing that participants wanted to see was more audience interaction. Then I worked with
Barbara on problem solving marketing materials. We also developed a list of 5k
participants so we can send them an email on Thursday as a reminder. I also assisted the
social worker with setting up for the family meeting and birthday celebration after.

Journal 3/10/2016 (2-5pm)

There was not much assigned to me when I entered the house today so I met with the
social worker, Megan, to gain a different perspective of her work and what types of issues
she has to deal with in the house. Her role varies depending on the families needs. For
example, there was a family in the home who only spoke Arabic. The house utilized a
translator from Nemours to help explain the house rules. It appeared that there were
different social norms and they were not clear on the house rules. She had to address an
issue with the family but needed the assistance of the translator in order to inform the
family that their children cannot play outside by themselves. In the house, children under
12 need to be supervised at all times and under 18 the parents need to sign a consent form
saying they are responsible for their child if left unsupervised. On three occasions, this
situation occurred and per house rules families are usually asked to leave but due to the
language barrier and potentially different cultural norms the house was problem solving
other ways to address the issue. I assisted the social work intern with setting up the
family meeting in the living room and preparing the cake table for the birthday
celebrations. The social work intern is from the University of Delaware and began about
a month after I started. She is working on her undergraduate degree.
Journal 3/14/2016 (8-11am)
Today I worked closely with Barbara on the 28th Annual golf tournament packets. We
identified the donors from last year and looked at past donors who have not contributed
within a two-year period. We created lists and made labels for the donors who contributed
financially last year and then identified 75 previous donors to mail packets too. The cochairs were going to write engaging but concise messages to re-engage previous donors.
After working on the golf tournament, we worked on the 5k run/walk event. There are
current issues with the website that need to be corrected. I created my own team of
runners to participate in the event on April 16th and have also encountered problems with
the website. Barbara did not appear that this was an atypical behavior but instead a reoccurring one. She was not sure how the problem would be fixed and what impact this
problem will have on the event and the fundraising process.
Journal 3/17/2016 (8-11am)
Coming into the internship I was given instructions to complete the packets for the 28th
Annual golf tournament. The packets contained information for sponsorships of the
event. The sponsorships ranged from 2,400 to 15,000 and had a variety of packages to
choose from. The largest package included four seats at the guest celebrity table. Other
packages included the ability to sit in the helicopter to drop golf balls, take pictures with
the celebrity guest, and memorabilia. Also in the packets was a letter with detailed
information about how much was raised last year at the event and important information
about the event for this annual year. The two co-chairs, Joe Durkat and Peter Beberman,
signed the letters and they added personal messages to some of the letters if they knew
the individual. After all the packages were stuffed I put postages on each envelope and set
them out to get mailed. I spoke with Barbara about how she started her journey to be the
development director at the house. While her children were growing up, Barbara worked

part time at Childs inc helping new mothers with parenting skills. She would meet the
parents at the hospital and identify what types of assistance the parents would need. She
then met a woman at her husbands golf tournament who asked her to work at the MBNA
foundation. She reports this was the greatest experience for her and she valued her time
there. After MBNA switched over to Bank of America, almost all of the employees were
laid off and she started her career at the Ronald McDonald House. This was a great
learning experience for me to hear her story and how she built her career.
Journal 3/22/2016 (2pm-9:30pm)
Today was a wonderful experience as I was able to participate in the annual Change the
Luck of a Child telethon. This fundraising event took place at the CBS station in
Philadelphia. I had never been to the television studio and was excited to see all the hard
work it takes to produce television shows. The staff at the studio was very welcoming to
all the volunteers and families as well as provided food and drinks. Volunteers came from
the houses in Delaware, Camden, and Philadelphia. I was assigned data entry so I was in
the back area entering the information once an individual gave a donation over the phone.
There were about six people on data entry, two people on emailing out packets of
information to individuals who were going to send in a check, two people on credit card
processing, and three people stuffing Blarneys so they could be mailed out tomorrow to
individuals who purchased it. The telethon was much slower than the development
director, Barbara anticipated. At the end of the event, the Ronald McDonald House
Charities raised over one million dollars.
Journal 3/28/2016 (8-11am)
My development director was out of the office today so I was left with some directions,
which were to check the 5k emails and respond to any questions. There were no replies to
emails from potential participants. Next, I was informed to contact Stein Mart as they just
opened a store on route 202. The hope was to see if there company participants in
community giving, which at this time they do not. Finally, I was asked to sort and file
documents from donors who financially supported the house. The development director is
very organized and already has individual folders set up in a file cabinet for individual
and company donors. There were a few new individual and company donors that needed
folders added. I was filing some copies of checks, thank you letters, and corporate
sponsorships.
Journal 4/6/2016 (2-5pm)
Today I met with Barbara to discuss termination and make the schedule until April 28th,
which would be my last day at the organization. We discussed where I see myself in 5
years, which is not likely in the non-profit sector. I expressed interest in moving up the
career ladder in my current organization but remaining a volunteer at the house. I enjoy
working in the mental health field as I work closely with families to support their needs. I
have been able to see the development of the Ronald McDonald House and how an
organization financially supports itself but I feel it misses the personal connection with

the families the organization serves. The Development Director is very important in
building relationship with potential and current donors but I feel my strengths are with
the at-risk families and support how they can get connected with community resources to
support their needs. We discussed the upcoming 5k race, which will occur next weekend.
I worked on developing a catchy email to sent potential participants to see if more
individuals or teams would want to join the race. I sent emails to participants of the meal
program at the house and local schools.
Journal 4/7/2016 (8-11:30am)
Today was an interactive day. Children came from Tower Hill Elementary School to go
on a tour of the Ronald McDonald House as they have been collecting pop tabs for the
house. Pop tabs are the tops of the aluminum soda can and the house is able to sell them
to collect extra money. The thirty 1st graders collected approximately 11,000 pop tabs and
the teacher incorporated this into their math lessons. We split the group of children and
chaperones into two groups. The students were well behaved and asked really good
questions. The teachers bought the children McDonalds for lunch. There was one little
boy who had never eaten McDonalds before. I overheard the peer as his friend if he liked
the McDonalds lunch. I thought the tour aspect of the house could be improved or
tailored for little children coming to explore and learn about the house. The teachers and
chaperones were very appreciative of the house allowing them to come visit and they
headed off to the Delaware opera house to see a play.
Journal 4/14/2016 (8-11am)
I attended the 25th anniversary committee meeting. The meeting consisted of
approximately 15 individuals, which were made up of board members, volunteers, and
staff members. The special event manager lead the meeting and the topics discussed were
save the date cards, preliminary budget review, sponsorship review, menu,
subcommittees, and future meeting dates. The gala will take place on October 22nd and
will include about 300 people. The tentative price of the tickets is $150 per person, which
includes cocktails, drinks, and a four-course meal. The band Strangers is the
performance of the evening and has performed at Nemourss events. The sponsorship
packages range in price from $250 (patron package) to $10,000 (silver package). The
goal of the event is to be a fun-filled night that celebrates the house being open for 25
years. Several years ago, the house sold light up blinky pins that were a huge success.
A lot of the committee members wanted this to be included in the event. Other ideas
generated at the meeting were four displays to be set up in the lobby of the hotel that
would represent the different services offered at the house. One display would showcase
the dining room to represent the meal program the house offers. Another display would
be a bedroom to represent the adopt a family program. The third display would showcase
the social work office, their role, and the different activities that they partake in at the
house. Finally, a van can display the transportation service the house offers the family.
The special events manager developed several subcommittees that each participant would
need to be assigned. The subcommittees would be honoring our heritage, decorations,
PR/Social media, ticket sales, and onsite fundraising. Another idea generated at the

meeting was to name the tables and display each year the house has been open. For
example, table one would represent 1991 and could include pictures or special items from
that year.
Journal 4/15/2016 (12-3pm)
The house was busy preparing for the 5k race which is to take place tomorrow. I assisted
with folding t-shirts and organizing the team bags. The team captains would be going to
the Blue Rocks Stadium between 4:30 and 6:30 to pick up their team bags that consisted
of t-shirts, bibs, and pins. I joined the volunteer group in cutting up fruit for the event
tomorrow. Then I organized the gift certificate prizes of the event by putting them in
envelopes and categorizing them by age groups. Each age bracket would get a certain
number of prizes ranging from $15 to $75. I worked with the development director on
thank you cards to donors who contributed financially to the house. Regardless of the
amount of the donation, contributors received a thank you card. Donations ranged from
$250 to $10,000. After writing the thank you cards I made copies of the checks and thank
you cards so they could be filed. The development director reports that everything is
electronic now so she is hoping to get rid of the paper records that consume her office.
Journal 4/16/2016 (7-11am)
Team ShinSplints participated in the 5k race at the Blue Rocks Stadium in Wilmington. I
recruited participants from my family as well as co-workers to walk in the event. I
showed up early as I was the volunteer coordinator and was in charge of getting the
volunteers to the appropriate stations for the event. A lot of volunteers were from the
University of Delaware and Delaware Technical Community College. I met Wayne K.
who is the founder of Races 2 Run as well as Joe Gallagher who organizes the event. I
felt that I was helpful to participants of the event as there were two main stations. One
was for individuals or team who pre-registered prior to the event and the other station
was for individuals who were registering the day of. The organization could have
provided better signs to indicate where the two stations were. The waiting area for the
race filled up fast, which made it difficult for new individuals walking up to get
registered. Prior to the race, the event hosted a kiddie race that was lead by local police
officers and ended with Ronald McDonald clown. The weather was nice for the event and
there were approximately 1,000 participants in the event. After the race, I helped clean up
the event and tried to network with the founder of Races 2 Run who asked me if I would
be interested in volunteering at other races. I told him I would contact him via email to
discuss further. We talked about his wife who is co-founder of their organization but she
also previously worked for the state of Delaware. I talked with Barbara who got a total of
participants that were at the event, which was 924 and she did not seem happy about this.
Journal 4/20/2016 (1-5pm)
Today I mailed several save the dates for the upcoming 25th Anniversary Gala that will
take place on October 22nd. Then I attended a staff meeting. The CEO handed out an
agenda and led the meeting. Laura, advancement office and grant writer, discussed the

upcoming Mothers Day appeal. This fundraiser will share a story about two Mothers
who were also sisters that faced the same challenges with having premature babies. This
family story will be sent out to potential donors. If individuals donate to the house, the
house will then send a Mothers Day card to a special woman in their life. Erin, the
community and family room coordinator, discussed the upcoming PSA announcement
that will be created by Mount Pleasant High School. The High School would like to
interview 1-2 families as well as 1-2 staff or volunteers to find out why they are so
passionate about the house. Dawn, the special events manager, discussed the upcoming
House Birthday party that will occur on June 5th. This is a family friendly event and will
include a moon bounce, pony rides, face painting, and more. They are looking for new
and innovate ideas to engage families in and asked the team if anyone had suggestions.
Also the house will need too replace the American Girl Fashion Show as the company
has decided not to host any more fashion shows beginning in 2017. A few ideas that were
brought up were a dance-a-thon, bike ride, game night, and pull a plane. The house in
Philadelphia hosts an annual pull a plane and were able to raise over $100,000. Teams
were gathered and had to either raise $1,000 or $2,000 to participate. Next, Sara
discussed the volunteer dinner that will take place on Thursday April 28th. She needed
extra volunteers so I volunteered to help out from 2 to 4pm setting up table and
decorations. Then Pam, the CEO, discussed staff goals, Accelerate Delaware, and RMHC
trainings. Staff are supposed to complete both individual and team goals. They should be
tracking them quarterly. The CEO will compile one document for the team goal on a
quarterly basis so all team members can see where they are fall in terms of meeting the
team goal. Accelerate Delaware, is an initiative started by the Longwood Foundation and
was formed in 2014, to act as a change agent for the City of Wilmington. This initiative
was aimed at young professionals who were coming to further their education in
Delaware. The objective was to match these young professionals with business leaders in
DE in hopes they would start building their careers in Delaware and reside in the city.
Market Street is trying to be a social outlet for young professionals. Finally, the house is
starting the Walkway of Hope campaign. This brick campaign will include about 735
bricks and will bring in about $150,000. The brick sideway will be done in sections and
will start at the entrance of the building.