Local nonprofit kicks off 3-day fundraising campaign for families with sick or injured children

IDAHO FALLS – The second annual Fundraising for Families campaign at the Ronald McDonald Family Room in Idaho Falls officially got underway Monday.

The nonprofit at 3100 Channing Way inside Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center provides a quiet place for family members to get something to eat, take a shower, do laundry, watch TV, take a nap or even stay the night steps away from their hospitalized child. In order to continue to make this space available, the staff is asking for your donations during a three-day event.

Lori Priest, a spokeswoman for the nonprofit, tells EastIdahoNews.com they’ve already raised $17,000 of their $30,000 goal during the first day of the campaign.

“The community’s effort to help us reach our goal is really appreciated. We’re hoping to blow that goal out of the water. It’s amazing to see how much people care about the families of sick children,” Priest says.

McDonald’s restaurant owners and operators throughout eastern Idaho made a leading gift of $5,000 to kick off the campaign. The Cichos and Johnson families also contributed $5,000.

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April Hibbert of Afton, Wyoming has been a guest at the Ronald McDonald Family Room since giving birth to identical twin girls on Feb. 18. The babies are currently in the NICU because they were born seven weeks prematurely.

“I went into labor at 33 weeks and our hospital could only deliver at 36, so I was transferred to EIRMC,” Hibbert says.

The cause of the premature birth, according to Hibbert, was an intrauterine growth restriction, which means one baby was taking more nutrients than the other. One baby was born a little bit smaller as a result. Both babies are doing fine, but are still learning to breathe on their own and eat without a tube. Hibbert is expecting to be there at least two more weeks while her babies recover.

Meanwhile, she says her experience at the Ronald McDonald House has been “awesome” and she describes it as a “home away from home.”

“I didn’t pack a whole lot because I wasn’t expecting to stay at the hospital for multiple weeks, so being able to wash my clothes is great. We’re just walking distance from the NICU, so if in the middle of the night I want to go check on the girls, I just walk down there. It gives us peace of mind knowing we can check on the girls whenever we need to,” says Hibbert.

Hibbert is also grateful for the staff always having food available and says being able to avoid the two and half hour drive back and forth has saved her family a lot of money.

The average cost for a place to stay, combined with food and gas is about $200 a day for the average family, Priest says.

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“Having a child in the hospital places a huge financial burden on families. There is no cost for families to use the programs provided by the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Idaho. Generous donations from the community make this possible,” Priest says.

Families who utilize the Family Room come from communities across Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Washington, Arizona, and beyond. Since it opened in September 2019, RMHC has served more than 525 families and had over 3,200 visits.

During the fundraising campaign, generous donors will match any contribution up to $15,000. All the proceeds will benefit local RMHC of Idaho programs.

“No matter how much you give, every little bit helps,” she says.

If you’d like to donate, click here.