Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ohio Valley Recognizes Its Volunteers

Evansville’s Ronald McDonald House is greatly supported by its volunteers. Saturday, January, 16, 2016, Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ohio Valley recognized the dedication of over 130 active volunteers, eight of which were given special recognition for serving as a volunteer for five years. In 2015, those volunteers, along with the Meals of Love volunteers served over 17,160 hours!

Annually the charity has awarded one volunteer who has gone above and beyond the call of volunteerism. The award is named after the local charity’s founder, Sallie Ann Hill. The 2015 Sallie Ann Hill Volunteer of the Year recognition was awarded to Glen Will. Glen has volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House since 2014. In that amount of time, he has volunteered over 400 hours.

Lydia Balbach, Volunteer Coordinator commented, “Glen would never want to be recognized for helping someone else. I believe Glen thinks about everyone else around him and what they need other than himself. He always makes sure things are done. You never know if you will see him in the attic, in the basement, on the roof, and even taking things home to work on. He truly goes beyond the call of duty, and is a wonderful attribute to our charity.”

Also that evening, Executive Director, Theresa Floyd-Maas gave special recognition to volunteer, Mike Gilles for being instrumental in the establishment of the new Happy Wheels Cart Program. “Mike spent countless hours building our first Happy Wheels Cart. The new hospitality cart will allow us to take our “home away from home”, “away from home”. It is designed to serve families who wait for hours without leaving the hospital or their child’s bedside. It provides a bit of comfort as it travels the hospital hallways, bringing parents a hot beverage, snack and toiletries, while keeping the little ones entertained with books, fun activities and toys. Our first Happy Wheels Cart is now being used at The Women’s Hospital and is operated by our volunteers,” said Theresa Floyd-Maas. “This new program will enable us to expand our reach into other area communities and impact an even greater number of children and their families.”