Click here to read a very special poem which was written and dedicated to one of our volunteers Maria (Pipal) Foletto.

20 YEARS OF TEAMWORK

Where does the time go? Wow, it just seems like yesterday that the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern Colorado opened its doors on February 14, 1987.

Over the past 20 years, the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern Colorado has probably served nearly 8,000 families. However, it would not have been possible to effectively serve all of those families without the dedicated and compassionate support of the volunteers.

On February 22, 2007 the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern Colorado held it's annual Volunteer Appreciation and Birthday Celebration at The First Presbyterian Church in downtown Colorado Springs. It was a wonderful, emotional evening full of food; Ronald McDonald, fellowship and even a few tears.

Treasure Davis, a board member and a former family member at the House told her heartfelt story of residing at the House following the birth of her daughter. Becky Phipps, the Community Liaison for the House also told of her 7-month stay after the birth of her son. I don' think there was a dry eye in the place after both of those stories.

Last year, the volunteers donated 5,066 hours and 45 minutes to the House. The volunteer with the most hours in 2006 was Fernando Soule, a star maintenance man at the House. The volunteer with the most overall hours was Marge Colgan with 1,756.5 hours in 20 years of service.

The first award of the evening was for 20 years of Service to the Ronald McDonald House and it went to Marge Colgan, Eleanor McLeod and Rose Pollard. The new Team Spirit Award went to Debbie Lacey and the Spirit of the House Award went to Kaki Crystal and Libby Weinstein. Finally, Chris Makela was awarded as the Volunteer of the Year with 118.5 hours in 2006. She is at the House several times a week and assists with various administrative duties such as filing, typing, thank you writing and organization. Chris is an amazing, dedicated, caring woman and the House is blessed to have such a wonderful volunteer on their team!

The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern Colorado has a fantastic team of volunteers. They have positively impacted so many families through all of their hard work to keep the House clean and calm, or through providing meals or baked goods.

Well, let us all raise our glasses high and toast the Ronald McDonald House of Southern Colorado and the team of volunteers. Here's to 20 more years at The House That Love Built! Thank you again for your dedication and compassion.

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