Ready for the play-by-play of the Gala program? Warning: there are lots of pictures!!
A children's choir opened the program by singing a personalized version of "Seasons of Love" all about the Ronald McDonald House. It was very cute!
The lovely Sandy Pagnotti, executive director of RMH Baltimore (and beautiful inside and out!) shared some remarks.
Side note: There have only been 3 directors in 30 years! Doesn't that speak of the dedication and love these women have for families?!?
Extra side note: That's our sweet, beautiful friend Elizabeth in the picture with the directors past and present!
This is sooooo cool...this is the VERY first family to ever enter RMH, 30 years ago! They somehow located them and they were able to share their story.
Joe Ehrrman, former Colts football player, was the man responsible for building RMH 30 years ago in memory of his brother. Without his financial support and vision, none of this would have ever happened!
4 Families joined Joe on the stage and shared their stories. They were all beautiful and inspiring. At the podium is John, who became suddenly paralyzed 3 years ago because of a rare disease that attacked his spinal cord. The doctors told him he would never walk again, but he is! I love those stories, don't you?! John decided to look forward to his intense therapy weeks by giving each week a dress-up theme...like Disney Villains, Famous Bettys, etc. Now you see why he is wearing a teal vest and bow tie with a crazy light-up hat! :) He is such a bright burst of energy and Caleb adored him.
This family lost their daughter Lindsay in a car accident. Every year on the anniversary of her passing, they load up the car with supplies for the House and give a check for $10,000 from their foundation. They have also just launched a new program called Lindsay's Kitties, where every child that comes to RMH will be given a stuffed kitty in Lindsay's memory.
This is the Buckles Family. The twins were born conjoined at birth. Although they were successfully separated, one of the twins has permanent damage to her spinal cord. In addition, the oldest daughter has a tumor on her spine and will most likely be paralyzed as well. Their mom, Melissa, is such a strong woman and we are blessed to know them! (Yes, she's got a baby less than a year old too!)
You've already seen the pictures of our part, so the last portion of the gala was the premier of the music video I shared in an earlier post! They invited the staff and many of the families in the video to come up on the stage.
Wooooooo! I know there were a whole lot of pictures to scroll through, but I hope you enjoyed getting to see the Gala in pictures! If you didn't, you're probably not reading this anyway. :)
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