Sometimes it's OK for children to leave handprints all over thewalls.
The preservation of children's art, along with a fresh new lookand improved amenities, will make the Ronald McDonald House morecomfortable for families of children seeking treatment at St. JudeChildren's Research Hospital.
"The whole idea is to provide a home," said Caron Byrd, executivedirector of Ronald McDonald House, which is celebrating its 20thanniversary this year with a million-dollar cosmetic renovation.
"(Patients) should not have to stay in a hotel with vacationersand business travelers - here they're staying with people who sharea similar experience with them."
The house, which sits on 11 acres Downtown on Alabama Street, has51 bedrooms and runs at or above 90 percent occupancy year-round.Since it was built in 1991, more than 5,000 families have stayedthere for periods between seven and 90 days while their childrenundergo treatment for cancer and other potentially terminaldiseases.
"It was time for a facelift," Byrd said.
As part of the renovation, all of the bedrooms and hallways wererepainted, retiled and refurnished with new chairs, countertops andlinens. The house's previous color scheme of beige and other neutraltones was replaced with hot tangerine and explosive lime green.
Existing wooden headboards were painted red and pink for a moreeclectic feel and framed floral prints, which Byrd said werecomparable to those found in hotel rooms, were replaced with brightchildren's art.
The larger of the house's two kitchens needed updating, too, socabinets and countertops were added, a handicapped-accessiblekitchen was completely overhauled and the entire area was paintedviolet and yellow.
"(The kitchen) is really bright and colorful," said Tim Taylor, amember of a volunteer group called Ali's Way, which cooks dinnersand breakfasts at the house in memory of the group founder'sdaughter who once stayed at a Ronald McDonald House in California."Looks like it's going to be more friendly for serving.
"They have new countertops out in the dining hall area. Wenormally just set up tables. I'm looking forward to getting in theirand doing our first meal."
The kitchen, which reopened May 6, was out of commission forabout seven weeks, during which time restaurants donated dailycatering. Ali's Way continued to cook meals in a kitchen at HopePresbyterian Church.
Byrd said the current residents have already commented that theplace feels "happier," but the new paint posed one big problem.
For years, it has been the tradition for children who stay at thehouse to leave a handprint of paint on the wall before going home.Each is signed and personalized.
Repainting the walls meant covering up many of those handprints.
To save the memories, Byrd enlisted the help of PatrickMcDermott, a soon-to-be Eagle Scout whose father, Chris, is on theboard of directors, to make digital art of the handprints beforethey were painted over.
"These hands are very important to the people who have stayedthere," said McDermott, who, with the help of other scouts,photographed and edited the digital files of about 1,050 handprints.
It took about 60 hours over the course of a couple of months toseparate each image and remove bits of other handprints that hadbled over from one to the next.
"Hopefully we're planning on getting (digital) picture framesdonated," said McDermott. "They're small, but it'll give a slideshow of different hands and possibly some pictures of the walls, soit will show how it looked before."
New handprints are made on sheets of acrylic donated by Lucite sothey can be moved around easily.
The entire renovation will cost $1.28 million, which will be paidin part by a challenge grant from the Plough Foundation providing $1for every $3 raised up to $250,000. So far, the house has raised$850,000 through a campaign started in November. They have 14 monthsto raise the rest.
Unlike the Grizzlies House and Target House, which also providehousing for St. Jude families, Ronald McDonald House is a stand-alone nonprofit organization and is not owned by St. Jude. Nor is itowned by McDonald's, which is the house's primary corporate sponsor.
The house has a staff of 19 and relies on volunteers for itsfront desk staff and other positions.
Volunteer groups also gather donations to stock the house'spantry with items such as paper towels, laundry detergent, snacksand juice boxes.
In addition to the communal kitchens, the house offers lounges,computer areas, wireless Internet, a small chapel and game rooms forkids and teenagers - as much comfort as they can offer, said Byrd,considering that most of the guests arrive within a day or two ofgetting the worst news of their lives.
"Our role is to take all of that burden and stress and worry awayfrom them so they can spend time with their child," said Byrd.
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Ronald McDonald House
Executive Director: Caron Byrd
Address: 535 Alabama
Phone: 529-4055
Online: rmhmemphis.org
Employees: 19
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