Persuasive Speech: Ronald Mcdonald House Charities

Ronald McDonald House Charities

General Purpose: To persuade
Specific Purpose: To persuade the audience to donate time or money to the charity.
Organizational Pattern: Time

I. INTRODUCTION
A. Attention Getter: Everyone has heard of Ronald McDonald right? We live in America it would be hard not to. And I am sure many of you have heard of the Ronald McDonald Charities but you may not know what they do or how they help. My goal here is to help you make the decision to help support the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC).

B. Relevance to Audience: The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana not only opens doors for many children with the scholarship programs, while also pro-actively reaching out to children in need with mobile medical unit

providing healthcare to underserved children in the Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana area. The charity also has three family home-like rooms built into Lurie’s Children’s, Comer’s Children’s and Edwards Hospitals for families to stay in when their child is under treatment for short periods of time. Finally, they offer five houses within the Chicagoland area for multiple families that are far from home at no to minimal cost. It is a tremendous relief to know you can be near the hospital in case of an emergency, but in a comfortable place to relax, eat and talk to other families going through similar situations. For Helping Families Find Strength in Numbers. (n.d). Retrieved September 26, 2015.

C. Creditability Statement: Why is this charity so close to my heart? I have had personal experience with this chapter of the Ronald McDonald House Charities. In December of 1997, I had a daughter that was born with too many problems to begin to mention, at the time my son was three. She lived 16 months and spent the first four months at Children’s Memorial Hospital (now Children’s Lurie Hospital) in downtown Chicago, I lived in Plainfield. It was comforting to know that my family could stay close to the hospital for a minimal cost. The homes are staffed with volunteers who make lunch and dinner, plan activities for the other children and help to give you and your family a comfortable place to relax. When you are going through a situation like that, to say it is overwhelming is an understatement. You are thrown into a situation you have no idea how to handle or were prepared to handle, but now you’re in it. I cannot express enough the gratitude I have for the people at the houses. They were kind and caring individuals who volunteered their time and money to help perfect strangers go through a terrible ordeal.

D. Thesis Statement: I am hoping to provide information on the Ronald McDonald House Charities, from the mobile medical unit, family rooms, scholarships but also the Ronald McDonald Houses in order to persuade you to either give your time or your money.

TRANSITION: So how many of you are saying to yourself, wow McDonald’s does more than just offer us super-sized fries?

II. I know some of you probably like to look at the bottom line so let me give a few statistics on why the RMHC is a great organization.
A. According to Charity Navigator the nation’s largest and most utilized charity evaluator of charities. The Ronald McDonald House Charities rank 93.68% overall for the transparency and accountability, as well as, for the financial usage. Charity Navigator-Advanced Search. (n.d). Retrieved September 26, 2015. When looking for an organization to support it’s important to know where your money is going. RMHC also meet all 20 standards from the Better Business Bureau. Better Business Report for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana. (2013, September 1). Retrieved September 16, 2015. Another important place to view when looking into where to put your hard earned money.

B. RMHC started in 1974 and there mission statement is simple. "to create, find and support programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children." That’s it, short, sweet and to the point, but so many times those are things that make the biggest impact.

The rest of you might be thinking all of those stats are great but what does RMHC do?

A.

The Scholarship Program

i. Each year the RMHC of Chicagoland awards $4,000 per year, that is renewable scholarships to extraordinary area high school seniors who are committed to community service and academic excellence.
ii. Since 2006, they have awarded more than $1 million dollars to 113 students and have assisted 60 students in achieving their college degrees.

D Next you have the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile

i. The mobile unit serves as a state of the art medical clinic on wheels. The vehicle is 40ft long, 8 ft wide and has two patient exam rooms, a waiting room and a medical records area.
ii. Its focus is to provide initial health screening, immunizations, primary care treatment and referral/follow-up appointments for everyday and serious medical needs and deliver the care directly to under-served children.
iii. In 2014, the mobile unit served over 2,500 patient visits, with their partners from Advocate Children’s Hospital.

E. Then we have the family rooms

i. There are three locations at Lurie’s Children’s, Comer Children’s and at Edward’s Hospital these are an area located in the pediatric units for families that have children and newborns are receiving treatment at the

hospital.

ii. They are located in the pediatric unit and feature a kitchenette, television, shower, a playroom and sleep rooms. The space is home-like and allows family a moment to rest and relax and an attempt at normalcy, which during times when a family is going through that I can speak from experience you pray every day for things to go back to normal.

F. Finally, we have the houses
i. There are five locations in the Chicagoland area and provide a supportive “home away from home” for families while their child is being treated at a nearby hospital.
ii. The rooms are private and comfortable and give you and your family some much needed time away, but still close by.
iii. Volunteers are there to help in any way they can, by cleaning, cooking, and helping provide some activities for the families other children.
iv. The houses are all different but have the same amenities, a computer lab, laundry room, play room, family room, and a kitchen with food always available.

TRANSITION:

III. CONCLUSION
A. Review Statement: At this point I hope you have a better understanding of all the opportunities that the Ronald McDonald House Charities offer, from the mobile medical unit, family rooms, scholarships but also the houses.
B. Memorable Close: I would like to end with a quote from an article by John Wasik, How to Choose A Charity Wisely, “As with most charitable endeavors, the satisfaction you derive is often linked to how hands-on you are with the organization. Getting involved-or seeing it in action for yourself-is part of that fulfilling experience.” So get involved, feel free to ask me questions and the next time you are at the drive through at McDonalds throw that extra change in the bin by the window!