RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE OF LONG BRANCH & NEW BRUNSWICK

Let me introduce you to two inspiring people: Carlos and Maria.

Last October Carlos, Maria, and her two daughters were living in Seaside Heights. Maria was pregnant. Carlos was a cook at a local restaurant.

Tragedy struck when Sandy destroyed their home, forcing them to live with family and friends.

On December 13, still without a home of their own, Maria gave birth to her daughter, Megan, who was born prematurely, weighing less than two pounds and suffering serious complications. Carlos, Maria, and the two girls moved into the Long Branch House while Megan received critical care at Monmouth Medical.

Despite the tragedy of losing their home and the challenges facing their newborn Megan, Carlos, Maria and their family were an inspiring presence in the House. Even while he was busy attending to Megan and working at temporary cooking jobs to support the family, Carlos regularly found time to cook delicious meals not only for his family but for the entire House. His kids did their best to maintain a state of normalcy. They enrolled in the local Long Branch school district, and Carlos helped them with their homework in the evening. The House was such a home in fact that the children -- who ultimately took to calling our wonderful acting House Manager in Long Branch, Maria, “abuela” -- even squabbled over whose turn it was to play video games.

Unfortunately, bad things often happen to good people like Carlos and Maria. Megan’s condition became worse, and she was sent to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia where they stayed for three weeks at the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House.

On March 25, tragedy struck again when Megan slipped away.

Most people who suffered through Carlos and Maria’s harrowing journey would be angry and bitter, cynically convinced that Fate has singled them out for her harshest treatment. But when I met Carlos and Maria at Megan’s wake, they betrayed none of those negative emotions. They were sad, to be sure. But their sadness was tempered by sincere gratitude for all the support provided by their family, friends, and our great organization.

Instead of anger and bitterness, they insisted on seeing only the good things that came from the experience. Maria told me that the great thing she learned from the experience is that your true family -- the people who will care, support, and hug you in a time of need -- is much larger than you could ever imagine and includes strangers you may never come to know.

Carlos and Maria stay in touch with our Long Branch staff. They say they are doing well. Carlos is working hard, and the two girls are back with their friends at their regular school. When Carlos has some free time away from the restaurant, he promises to make dinner for the House. Our Long Branch staff can’t wait.

There are a lot of lessons that we can learn from how Maria and Carlos faced the tragedies that befell them. But as members of the Ronald McDonald House community we should all be proud that our organization was there to help Carlos and Maria in their time of desperate need and, and we should all be energized to do more.

Thank you for your continued support of our mission.

Board of Trustees

Christopher Walsh, Esq.Chair

Michael NorrisVice-Chair

Susan CollinSecond Vice-Chair

James J. DeckerTreasurer

Michael KnechtSecretary

Board Members

2014 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Donna Belbey

Madiha Boraie

Margaret Fisher, M.D.

James J. Flynn

Thomas Hayes

Ken Hullings

Dawn Kinghorn

Eric Lasky

Barbara Littman

Warren Moore

Alan Weller, M.D.

Ed Wilkinson

Elizabeth Wykpisz

Chair Emeriti

Christopher Labrecque

Mary Ann Martin

Angelo Massaro, Jr.

Alexis Tucci, Esq.

Joan Wills

RMH STAFF

WEEKEND RELIEF MANAGERS

Corinne LeBaron - Executive DirectorLynne Siedentop - Development DirectorDenise Boglioli - Business Coordinator

Mary Beth Murphy - Marketing & Office CoordinatorStacey Hurden - Events Coordinator

LONG BRANCHKaty Matarese - House ManagerMaria Taylor - Resident ManagerCathy McKnight - HousekeeperFred McCullough - Maintenance

NEW BRUNSWICK HOUSECarol Reynolds - House Manager

Nychey Michel - Assistant House ManagerSkye Schiefer - Resident ManagerHilda Shiumoto - Housekeeper

Frank Muniz - Maintenance

RMHCNJ @RMHCNJ RMHCNJ

For more information visit out website www.rmh-cnj.org or email us at info.rmh-cnj.orgLONG BRANCH HOUSE

131 Bath AvenueLong Branch, NJ 07740

732-222-8755

NEW BRUNSWICK HOUSE145 Somerset Street

New Brunswick, NJ 08901732-249-1222

Fall is finally here! And while there is much to look forward to, we must also look back and thank some of our Trustees who have lead the House over the past few decades.

This March marked the end of the terms of five of our dedicated Trustees. Among them, they served more than 75 years on the Board of Trustees,

providing valuable guidance, wisdom, and stewardship. Because of their dedication and hard work, our organization stands securely on a solid foundation, and our Houses will continue to serve as a home away from home for families with ill children for decades to come. We cannot thank them enough for their dedication and service: Nancy Mazza, Barry Shapiro, Nancy Oliviero, Dr. Susan Hudome, and Phillip Koury.

Looking forward, we have many exciting challenges. To address a chronic problem of turning away or wait-listing families at the New Brunswick House, the Board of Trustees approved an ambitious expansion to the House from six to 18 rooms. We will need the generous support of all of you to make it a success. You will all hear much more of the capital campaign in the near future.

Letter from the

Chairman

Nicole ArnoneErik HarmadyLynn Hawkins

Vanessa Moinhos

Colleen NickasPatricia Petronko

Dan RibetAndrea Robinson

Christopher Walsh, Esq.Chairman

Christopher Walsh, Esq.

Some babies born prematurely or with special challenges have to stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for weeks or even months before going home. Parents are welcome any time in the Saint Peter’s NICU, but for many parents the demands of life often prevent being with the baby in person. Now any web-enabled phone, tablet or computer will allow Mom or Dad to securely check in on the newborn almost any time, 24/7.

The technology that makes this possible is called NICVIEW, and Saint Peter’s University Hospital’s NICU is the first in New Jersey to have a fully equipped unit, says Mark Hiatt, M.D., director of neonatology and of the NICU. “Our philosophy is that parents should feel like partners in their child’s care,” says Dr. Hiatt. “This allows us to extend that partnership visually, bringing us to new a level in parental communications.”

Babies on cameraA video system lets parents watch their newborns from anywhere, almost any time

HELPING HEARTS CAMPAIGNKeep your eyes opened for our “Helping Hearts” campaign at a local

business or office near you. We are getting the message out about our organization and our mission of providing a “Home away from

Home” for our families.

Community support is a needed more than ever, our houses have waiting list and don’t want to turn away a family away. Compassion

is a real comfort during difficult times, we work to provide a comfortable and safe “home away from home” for families with ill

children in local medical facilities. Through the Helping Hearts Campaign, you help a family stay close to their loved ones.

We started our event season on May 18th with our Garden Tea Party. The sky was blue and our lawn was filled with ladies in their best hats. Our gift auction was filled with every kind of gift imaginable - from porcelain dolls to gift certificates, there was something for everyone. Madam Potts presented a new tea for RMCHNJ, “Garden

of Friendship”, which is available on her Etsy site: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MadPotsofTea. MaryAnn from MaryAnna’s Teas presented her specialty cold teas and demonstrated how to make ice tea with loose leaves. MaryAnna’s Tea and accessories are available on her website at: http://www.maryannastea.com.

Our Walk with Ronald was held at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ. The weather was perfect for an early morning stroll through the park. A sea of red shirts followed special guest R&B recording artist Olivia, who was out front leading the walker’s. Olivia also performed for our guests along with rising star Jew-els Gold. Over 500 walkers joined Ronald including teams from Kohl’s, UPS and New Brunswick Schools, along with several RMH family teams.

It was a fabulous day! We wish to offer a tremendous thank you to all who donated and participated in the walk.

The weather started out perfect for our 21st Annual Golf Tournament held at Trump National Golf Course in Colts Neck, but quickly turned to a perfect storm! 125 golfers were treated to a delicious lunch, and a 12:30pm shamble start. The round was cut short by an approaching storm, but the golfers stayed and enjoyed the afternoon in the clubhouse, perused the silent auction table and enjoyed a buffet

dinner. Linnet Hunt was our house guest, along with her daughters Siri and Sarah. Linnet told of how RMH helped her family with Siri’s continuing therapy for shaken baby syndrome. Siri, who once used to be non-commutative and is now sitting upright and laughing! Siri is a true gem whenever the Hunt’s come to stay, her advancement has been amazing.

All aboard our Riverboat Cruise! We set sail From Bogan’s Boat Basin in Brielle aboard The River Queen. You could hunt down pirate booty in the treasure hunt or just relax and enjoy cruising down the smooth waters of New Jersey’s Manasquan River, Point Pleasant Canal and Barnegat Bay. Our guests were treated to a delious riverboat dinner buffet, The weather was sultry but it didn’t dampen the excitement of the treasure hunt or the surprise fireworks!

In August we had our Handbags for Hope return with hundreds of gently use coveted designer, vintage and name brand pocketbooks up for sale at huge discounted prices. Designer handbags from Coach, Tommy Hilfiger and Cole Haan plus others were on hand. Who could resist the drool-worthy Moschino’s

ode to “Fast Food” pocketbook design-McDonalds done up in a commanding color palette! The purse features a stylized logo that pays homage to the famed hamburger haunt, while reimagining Moschino’s iconic heart-shaped motif.

Coach C. Vivian Stringer came and brought down some wonderful Rutgers sports bags to auction off –

she even autographed a few too! The ladies also added in accessories and beautiful jewelry – some gently used, vintage and brand new too! Everyone went away with a smile and arms filled with new handbags and baubles for the year.

Atlantic Valley Volleyball Club held a fundraising event at the Watchung Hills Regional High School in Warren, NJ raising in over $1000.00 for RMHCNJ!

Connor stopped by with another huge wish list donation for the New Brunswick house!

Parishioners from Hope Church - Tammy & Rob Weiss & son Mason and Nancy Massa found the car of their dreams at our 2nd Ford Drive 4UR Community test drive.

Liberty Mutual lending a helping hand by cleaning up the baby room in Long Branch

Stop & Shop of Long Branch donated a wagon loaded with wish list items for our LB house!

Monmouth University Entrepreneurial class cooked up a storm and brought gifts for all the kids!

Magyar Bank of New Brunswick for bringing lunch to the families at the New Brunswick House!

THANK YOU to 5 long-term Board Members whose board terms ended this year. They have all shown incredible dedication to RMH & we’re so happy to know that they will continue to stay involved & support the House- Barry Shapiro, Dr. Susan Hudome, Nancy Oliviero,

Phil Koury & Nancy Mazza.

House Happenings

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT:

What can one say about the House That Love Built?!? My heart swells every time I walk through the door. As a mom who spent many days and nights at my daughter’s bedside, I know the stress and anxiety the parents are going through. It was actually as I was sitting in the parents lounge at St. Peters feeling tired and achy that an angel whispered in my ear and said ‘go to massage school and then volunteer to give the other parents chair massages’. Now that my daughter is healthier and older, I was able to do just that which is how I met Carol Reynolds at RMH New Brunswick, NJ. I later became a Weekend Relief Manager and although there have been some crazy weekends, RMH is my peaceful respite where I know I will get recharged with the overflowing love from everyone who passes through our doors. ~Patty Petronko Weekend Relief Manager - New Brunswick

A Place toRecharge the Spirit

Patty Petronko

New Brunswick Proposed Expansion

When opened, the New Brunswick House was approved for 6 family bedrooms. In the 8 years since

opening the demand for pediatric care in the New Brunswick area has tripled.

Which is why we are seeking to expand our New Brunswick House. Take a look at the

proposed expansion photos, expanding the home will take community support – going from the original 6

family rooms to up to 18 family rooms.

We need your support now more than ever!

““The House That Love Built”Administrative Offices 131 Bath AvenueLong Branch, NJ 07740

MAKE A PLAN TO GIVE THIS YEAR

Make a difference in the lives of our children.

Contact Lynne Siedentop, Director of Development at 732-222-8755 Ext. 30 or by

email at Lynne@rmh-cnj.org.