August 13, 2024 • 20 mins
Kathy "KP" Papadimitriou, CEO of Ronald McDonald House
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
iHeart Media Presents. CEOs. You should know Kathy KP. Papa
Dimetrio is CEO of the Charleston Ronald McDonald House. Kathy's
been with RMH for over seven years. Welcome to CEOs
you should know KP.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Thank you so much for having us.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Well, thanks for taking the time to talk to us today.
So please explain to our listeners. I think almost everybody
probably knows what the Ronald McDonald House is, but please
explain in case they don't, Oh to our listeners with
the mission. With the mission of the Ronald.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
McDonald you'll have to stop me, probably because I can
go on and on. We serve the families of critically
ill children. So we know the white papers and the
scientists have proven that a child will actually heal faster
if they have their loved ones around them, people that
(00:51):
they trust. So when a child usually is admitted to
critical care or has a series of procedures, or to
trans transplant or something, they need to stay close to
the hospital within a certain distance for a short period
of time or could be a long period of time.
You know, in the old days when I was growing up,
(01:13):
they literally would just drop the kids off at the
hospital wing and you are allowed to see your family
from seven to eight at nine at night, and that
was it. But now Family Center Care is all about
having an advocate, having somebody there that you trust to
help you in the healing process, and so that's what
(01:34):
we're about. We are basically a little hospitality camp, a
hotel for lack of a better word, for the children
and they're families, so while they're healing, while they're getting
stronger in between those procedures. And we're so lucky to
have MEC Children's Hospital here in Charleston. That is the
(01:56):
primary hospital that we serve, although quite honestly, we're dedicated
to pediatrics. So if anybody is attending any facility in
the area and needs help, they're more than eligible.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
What is the distance it has to be? Where's the
house located? It's so obviously it's very close to m
USC downtown right.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
We are technically on the MUSC campus. MUC, as part
of their donation annual donation to the charity, gives us
the land that we sit on. The charity has actually
built the facility and maintains the facility. But we are
literally two short blocks city blocks from Shawn Jenkins Children's Hospital.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Now you kind of touched on it. I would imagine
that these kids that it helps them not only emotionally
to be close to their family when they're going through
such a traumatic experience, but it also probably helps them
physically in their recovery too, doesn't absolutely.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
There's so many studies that show that if the family
is engaged, the child will heal faster. Yeah, so that's
a big part of really what we stand for it.
And then, of course the truth is a major illness,
even if you have great insurance, can wipe out a family.
(03:18):
It certainly displaces everyone. You may have to change your
bathrooms to allow for wheelchairs. You know, there's nobody to
take the sibling to a soccer match. So I've seen
constantly parents that if they're so worried at critical points
about their child, if the child's going to make it
(03:39):
or not, that they probably wouldn't have even eaten if
we hadn't put the food in front of them. So
for a very short period of time, I see our
little house as the place where the community comes in
and helps the family hold on and stay focused on
(03:59):
what they need to say they focused on, which is
their child getting stronger.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Well, you make an important point because if the parents
under stress, you know, the child can see that and
sense that and it has to affect them. So it
also helps the parents.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Oh. Absolutely, it's like I said, it's really about the
entire family, although it's centered in the child's recovery. So yeah,
it's a very special place. It really is. People ask
me all the time, Oh, you know, I have people
who haven't done any volunteer work with us before, and
they'll say, Oh, I'm afraid. I'm afraid to come in.
(04:36):
I don't want to be you know, I it could
be too depressing. And truthfully, we do lose children and
we all feel that. But for the most part, it's
an extremely happy place. The children get well, they move on,
they have full lives. We see that every day they
come back. They bring their favorite cookies for the next
(04:56):
families that are staying there. They volunteer here for the house,
they cook breakfasts for them, you know whatever. It's a
it's a little touch of humanity sometimes when you really
need it. It's amazing.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Now. I would imagine that fundraising is one of your
biggest challenges. Are there any other unique challenges that the
Ronald McDonald house faces that people might not be aware of.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
No, you just hit on it. We are coming in
the home stretch. We really need to expand our facility.
We were one of the first houses built in a
wave of houses across the country when Ronald McDonald was
coming into it's being, and so we're over forty years old.
(05:41):
The whole charity is only fifty years old. We were
the fiftieth house in the country that was built, and
so we're built in that old dorm style which has
kind of corrupted all the best practices just to survive.
So we don't have a lot of communal space. We
share bathrooms with exception of a few transplant rooms. So
(06:06):
imagine two twin beds and you get a little bucket
and you use that bucket a shower bucket to go
down the hall and take your shower. That's what we are.
So we really need to kind of get back to
everybody having their own bathrooms. We're thinking more of along
like a comfort in simple style, and we need to
(06:27):
have some more communal areas, small areas where families can
heal and play together and certainly separate if they need to.
The fat the child that needs to celebrate taking out
the breathing tube is in a different area from the
family maybe who is beginning end of life. So we
(06:50):
definitely need to expand, probably even more importantly because MUC
is kicking butt. They truly are the specialist pediatric specialist
of South Carolina. We need to serve more families. We
might put through the house in a year, a little
less than a thousand families a year, but we're turning
(07:12):
away on average over five hundred family requests a year.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
And we have been for over a decade. So it's
just as great of a job as I know we do.
It's just not good enough. So we are fortunate MUSC
has donated the land where currently Haulings Cancer has parking.
Don't ask me, everybody always asks these words. Haulings Cancer's
(07:38):
Valley parking going to go. I don't know in the
big scheme of things, but that parking lot we have
the rights to expand into. And we've got plans that
we've adapted and worked on and tested, and we're in
the home stretch. We're short about five little little more
(07:59):
than five million dollars work to complete a twenty five
million dollar project. We'd like to start in March of
twenty twenty five. So I'm really still looking for everybody's
help to help get us there.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Now, if somebody wants to donate, what should they do.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
All they needed to do is pick up the phone
called Ronald McDonald House, Charities of Charleston, or you can
go to our website, but I'd prefer you come and
look at the plans and see what might interest you.
And every dime is important to this launch. We've gotten
here through a series of amazing donors, but also people
(08:37):
just caring. Quite honestly, we've had some wonderful companies who've
donated some inkind services and some in kind materials which
are helping us with the cost. So yeah, I'd really
just like you to pick up the phone. Call Alex,
call me, call Rachel. One of us will sit with
you and take you through and see what makes sense
(08:59):
for your goal.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
And what's the phone number they should call.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Eight four three seven two three seven nine five seven,
And so that's eight four three seven two three seven
nine five seven and say you're interested in contributing to
expanding Hope.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Well that's perfect, and give the number one more.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Time eight four to three seven two three seven nine
five seven, and we'll.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Give the number again towards the end of the show
in case you're scrambling to find it a pen or
a pencil to write it down. I think we've all
faced that. Now, what about volunteers. Is there a need
for volunteers?
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Oh, my gosh, we love volunteers. They are the breath
and the depth of the organization. We couldn't live without them.
You know. It's the volunteers who feed the families every day.
It's the volunteers who spray, wash and clean the house.
It's the volunteers who move things and sort out the
(09:57):
donations and figure out what needs to go to the
high Hospitality cart that serves our family's bedside in the hospital,
or what's staying at the Ronald McDonald house. The volunteers
are are the critical piece of the organization, and so
absolutely we have all kinds of links on our website
(10:20):
if you want to look at our calendar and figure
out bringing your family or your colleagues to cook a
meal for the families, or maybe you need to do
something in your boardroom or your classroom because you actually
can't leave the facility. We have people who make what
we call on the meal go kits for us where
they'll put a banana and some snacks together in a
(10:42):
bag along with a bottle of water, and those goat
to the clinics. Think of the children who have to
have transfusions, for example our sickle cell clinic. Those transfusions
sometimes are as much as eight hours, so they get
a little bit of a snack. Or the families don't
have time to come back and forth to the house
to have lunch, so they'll take one of the snack
(11:04):
bags with them. So there's all kinds of things. We
have people that come and help us with the yard.
We're horrible gardeners, so we always need help with the yard.
And I love the football teams that come and help
us clean out underneath the house and pull out all
the Christmas decorations and things like that so that we'll
(11:25):
find something for you. Walgreens is wonderful. They come all
the time, and you know, we'll make beds whatever we need,
so we'll we'll come up with the project. Just you
just reach out to volunteer at Ronald McDonald House, Charleston
and we'll go from there.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
And I'm sure you can just search Ronald McDonald House, Charleston,
and and find the website there, and what is the
website offhand in case anybody can sure managed to retain that?
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Sure, it's our m H. Charleston dot org. Sonald McDonald House,
Charleston dot org, R m H. Charleston dot org.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
I'm sure that every child and every family that comes
through the Ronald McDonald House must evoke all kinds of
emotions from you and your staff. Is there any one
case that particularly stands out?
Speaker 2 (12:20):
That's such a loaded question?
Speaker 1 (12:21):
It is?
Speaker 2 (12:22):
It really is?
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Because everybody's special. Obviously, I'm sure every single one of
them touches your heart, But is there one there.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Really is that? I think it's just like life. There's
times when different things impact you. You know you something's
going on with you, and so you pick up on
something different. I think I recently was very impressed with
one of my teammates when she planned with some of
(12:53):
the volunteers and donors a special birthday party for an
autistic child so that he could celebrate. But of course
we had to do that in a different manner, so
he had all the hooplah without any of the angst.
I inspired every Friday when there's a CFO from Mount
(13:15):
Pleasant who comes and takes off his morning and comes
and works with my maintenance manager because he was a
child in a Ronald McDonald house years ago. But I
think the one that's resonating with me the most is
still this past holiday season when I helped answer the door.
There was a lot going on in the house. The
(13:37):
dog was barking all this stuff, and so I helped
answer the door, and there was this beautiful young woman,
she had to be maybe thirteen. She had her hands
full right. There was a barbie and favorite cookies, some
science books, this workbooks, just games. And so I was
helping her bring these things in because we create a
(13:59):
Santa line for the families to choose gifts for their
children during the holidays. And I was helping her carry
these items in, and I asked her the question I
always ask everybody. Why, Yes, there's so many great charities
in Charleston. Why Ronald McDonald's house. And she said, because
you guys saved my life. And I said, oh, honey,
(14:21):
I'm sorry you were a patient. You're better now, And
she said, no, no, no, no, I wasn't the patient. My
sister was. But you guys are the ones who made
my life bearable because everything was about my sister at
that stage. It had to be. She said, So you're
the ones who packed my lunches, You're the ones who
played with me after school. And she said, I'm just
(14:42):
waiting to be sixteen years old so I can come
volunteer regularly with you. And so I think she's my
current inspiration.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
That is such a sweet story.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
There are just so many, so many join us. You
have to come down, well, you just have to come down.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
The impact that you have, you know, not only on
the children, but on their families, on their siblings. Yeah,
in the reach that it has, the impact that it
has not only on the families, but on you know,
society in the end of.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
The day, and even families who have lost the child.
I recently met someone there, such a charming couple, and
they brought me all the pop tabs that we collect
because you know, we tried every recycle and be environmentally correct.
So they collect their pop tabs and I was helping
them unload them and they handed me a check and
(15:34):
they said, let me tell you the story behind the check.
We match we do. We play in a golf tournament
every year and at the end of the golf tournament,
we sit there and we do shots, and for every
shot we do, we match it because we lost a
child and so our friends, you know, play off this
this this game of shots, and the check basically came
(15:57):
from that game. So it's their way of giving back,
even though you know their particular child didn't make it.
It's like I said, it's a very special place. It's
a place to share and it gives you a lot
of great hope in humanity sometimes when we need it,
when we're listening to the news and you know life
(16:18):
doesn't seem that happy.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
Absolutely well, you know, on CEOs, you should know, we
talk about the organization, but we also talk about the individual.
So let's talk about you a little bit. Tell us
about your journey and becoming CEO of the Charleston Ronald
McDonald House.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Oh wow. I grew up in Charleston and this community
was always very good to me growing up. But then
I did, like a lot of kids, I went away
to college and started my professional career in many parts
of this country and then abroad. I worked and lived
(16:56):
abroad for a period of time and was in the
hospitality industry, specifically in experiential marketing. So I did big events,
you know, the Olympics, NBA All Star weekends, this type
of thing, and my father, we saw, was beginning end
of life, and I came home to actually help my
(17:20):
sister during that period and the rest of my family.
And during that period I met people from the Ronald
McDonald house I did. I assisted with a fundraiser and
was just so impressed with everybody I touched and really
quite honestly didn't think about it beyond that moment. And
(17:43):
then later when the position became available, I applied. I
wasn't really ready to move back to Charleston. I knew,
I always knew I would eventually, but they I think
that's another reason I love the charity so much. They
gave me the opportunity to come back home and be
with him in the last couple of years of his life.
So yeah, so I kind of always been in hospitality,
(18:08):
but now, like I said, I kind of run a
little hotel for families of sick children.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
So that has to be just, you know, an emotional
journey in that position. What's the philosophy that drives you
each day.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
I think it's urgency. I think I'm not a patient
person on many levels, and I think being around families
struggling for a child to make it, it's the urgency
that presses me every day that we need to do
(18:44):
it here and now. We can't necessarily wait. We need
to grasp life and its rewards immediately. So I think
that's probably my underlying motivation. Yeah, I think it's urgency.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
Well, it was fantastic to talk to you today, and
you do great work at the Charleston Ronald McDonald.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
Y'all for all of your support. This community is so giving.
We would not be where we are today without it,
and quite honestly, we're not going to get where we
need to go without it. So I thank you for
telling our story and reminding everyone that we're still there
(19:32):
on Calhoun Street and we need your help.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
Well absolutely, and I mean and I mean this literally,
it's the very least we can do because of the
fantastic work that you do. Thanks and if anybody wants
to help and donate, give that phone number one more time.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
Our phone number is eight four to three seven two
three seven nine five.
Speaker 3 (19:54):
Seven eight four three.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
Seven two three seven nine five seven all.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
Right, perfect, And then if anybody wants to volunteer, just
go to the website and that was r m H
Charleston dot com.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
R m H Charleston dot com dot org, oh dot org,
rm H Charleston dot org exactly. You know, if you
have any extra time and UH and any extra funds,
help out the Ronald McDonald House of Charleston because they
do great work.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
Kathy KP. Papa Demetrio very good, I love it, CEO
of the Charleston Ronald McDonald House, Thanks so much for
your time today. You've been listening to iHeartRadio CEOs you
should know, heard every Tuesday and Saturday morning right here
on this iHeartRadio station.
iHeart Media Presents. CEOs. You should know Kathy KP. Papa
Dimetrio is CEO of the Charleston Ronald McDonald House. Kathy's
been with RMH for over seven years. Welcome to CEOs
you should know KP.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Thank you so much for having us.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Well, thanks for taking the time to talk to us today.
So please explain to our listeners. I think almost everybody
probably knows what the Ronald McDonald House is, but please
explain in case they don't, Oh to our listeners with
the mission. With the mission of the Ronald.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
McDonald you'll have to stop me, probably because I can
go on and on. We serve the families of critically
ill children. So we know the white papers and the
scientists have proven that a child will actually heal faster
if they have their loved ones around them, people that
(00:51):
they trust. So when a child usually is admitted to
critical care or has a series of procedures, or to
trans transplant or something, they need to stay close to
the hospital within a certain distance for a short period
of time or could be a long period of time.
You know, in the old days when I was growing up,
(01:13):
they literally would just drop the kids off at the
hospital wing and you are allowed to see your family
from seven to eight at nine at night, and that
was it. But now Family Center Care is all about
having an advocate, having somebody there that you trust to
help you in the healing process, and so that's what
(01:34):
we're about. We are basically a little hospitality camp, a
hotel for lack of a better word, for the children
and they're families, so while they're healing, while they're getting
stronger in between those procedures. And we're so lucky to
have MEC Children's Hospital here in Charleston. That is the
(01:56):
primary hospital that we serve, although quite honestly, we're dedicated
to pediatrics. So if anybody is attending any facility in
the area and needs help, they're more than eligible.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
What is the distance it has to be? Where's the
house located? It's so obviously it's very close to m
USC downtown right.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
We are technically on the MUSC campus. MUC, as part
of their donation annual donation to the charity, gives us
the land that we sit on. The charity has actually
built the facility and maintains the facility. But we are
literally two short blocks city blocks from Shawn Jenkins Children's Hospital.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Now you kind of touched on it. I would imagine
that these kids that it helps them not only emotionally
to be close to their family when they're going through
such a traumatic experience, but it also probably helps them
physically in their recovery too, doesn't absolutely.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
There's so many studies that show that if the family
is engaged, the child will heal faster. Yeah, so that's
a big part of really what we stand for it.
And then, of course the truth is a major illness,
even if you have great insurance, can wipe out a family.
(03:18):
It certainly displaces everyone. You may have to change your
bathrooms to allow for wheelchairs. You know, there's nobody to
take the sibling to a soccer match. So I've seen
constantly parents that if they're so worried at critical points
about their child, if the child's going to make it
(03:39):
or not, that they probably wouldn't have even eaten if
we hadn't put the food in front of them. So
for a very short period of time, I see our
little house as the place where the community comes in
and helps the family hold on and stay focused on
(03:59):
what they need to say they focused on, which is
their child getting stronger.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Well, you make an important point because if the parents
under stress, you know, the child can see that and
sense that and it has to affect them. So it
also helps the parents.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Oh. Absolutely, it's like I said, it's really about the
entire family, although it's centered in the child's recovery. So yeah,
it's a very special place. It really is. People ask
me all the time, Oh, you know, I have people
who haven't done any volunteer work with us before, and
they'll say, Oh, I'm afraid. I'm afraid to come in.
(04:36):
I don't want to be you know, I it could
be too depressing. And truthfully, we do lose children and
we all feel that. But for the most part, it's
an extremely happy place. The children get well, they move on,
they have full lives. We see that every day they
come back. They bring their favorite cookies for the next
(04:56):
families that are staying there. They volunteer here for the house,
they cook breakfasts for them, you know whatever. It's a
it's a little touch of humanity sometimes when you really
need it. It's amazing.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Now. I would imagine that fundraising is one of your
biggest challenges. Are there any other unique challenges that the
Ronald McDonald house faces that people might not be aware of.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
No, you just hit on it. We are coming in
the home stretch. We really need to expand our facility.
We were one of the first houses built in a
wave of houses across the country when Ronald McDonald was
coming into it's being, and so we're over forty years old.
(05:41):
The whole charity is only fifty years old. We were
the fiftieth house in the country that was built, and
so we're built in that old dorm style which has
kind of corrupted all the best practices just to survive.
So we don't have a lot of communal space. We
share bathrooms with exception of a few transplant rooms. So
(06:06):
imagine two twin beds and you get a little bucket
and you use that bucket a shower bucket to go
down the hall and take your shower. That's what we are.
So we really need to kind of get back to
everybody having their own bathrooms. We're thinking more of along
like a comfort in simple style, and we need to
(06:27):
have some more communal areas, small areas where families can
heal and play together and certainly separate if they need to.
The fat the child that needs to celebrate taking out
the breathing tube is in a different area from the
family maybe who is beginning end of life. So we
(06:50):
definitely need to expand, probably even more importantly because MUC
is kicking butt. They truly are the specialist pediatric specialist
of South Carolina. We need to serve more families. We
might put through the house in a year, a little
less than a thousand families a year, but we're turning
(07:12):
away on average over five hundred family requests a year.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
And we have been for over a decade. So it's
just as great of a job as I know we do.
It's just not good enough. So we are fortunate MUSC
has donated the land where currently Haulings Cancer has parking.
Don't ask me, everybody always asks these words. Haulings Cancer's
(07:38):
Valley parking going to go. I don't know in the
big scheme of things, but that parking lot we have
the rights to expand into. And we've got plans that
we've adapted and worked on and tested, and we're in
the home stretch. We're short about five little little more
(07:59):
than five million dollars work to complete a twenty five
million dollar project. We'd like to start in March of
twenty twenty five. So I'm really still looking for everybody's
help to help get us there.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Now, if somebody wants to donate, what should they do.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
All they needed to do is pick up the phone
called Ronald McDonald House, Charities of Charleston, or you can
go to our website, but I'd prefer you come and
look at the plans and see what might interest you.
And every dime is important to this launch. We've gotten
here through a series of amazing donors, but also people
(08:37):
just caring. Quite honestly, we've had some wonderful companies who've
donated some inkind services and some in kind materials which
are helping us with the cost. So yeah, I'd really
just like you to pick up the phone. Call Alex,
call me, call Rachel. One of us will sit with
you and take you through and see what makes sense
(08:59):
for your goal.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
And what's the phone number they should call.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Eight four three seven two three seven nine five seven,
And so that's eight four three seven two three seven
nine five seven and say you're interested in contributing to
expanding Hope.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Well that's perfect, and give the number one more.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Time eight four to three seven two three seven nine
five seven, and we'll.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Give the number again towards the end of the show
in case you're scrambling to find it a pen or
a pencil to write it down. I think we've all
faced that. Now, what about volunteers. Is there a need
for volunteers?
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Oh, my gosh, we love volunteers. They are the breath
and the depth of the organization. We couldn't live without them.
You know. It's the volunteers who feed the families every day.
It's the volunteers who spray, wash and clean the house.
It's the volunteers who move things and sort out the
(09:57):
donations and figure out what needs to go to the
high Hospitality cart that serves our family's bedside in the hospital,
or what's staying at the Ronald McDonald house. The volunteers
are are the critical piece of the organization, and so
absolutely we have all kinds of links on our website
(10:20):
if you want to look at our calendar and figure
out bringing your family or your colleagues to cook a
meal for the families, or maybe you need to do
something in your boardroom or your classroom because you actually
can't leave the facility. We have people who make what
we call on the meal go kits for us where
they'll put a banana and some snacks together in a
(10:42):
bag along with a bottle of water, and those goat
to the clinics. Think of the children who have to
have transfusions, for example our sickle cell clinic. Those transfusions
sometimes are as much as eight hours, so they get
a little bit of a snack. Or the families don't
have time to come back and forth to the house
to have lunch, so they'll take one of the snack
(11:04):
bags with them. So there's all kinds of things. We
have people that come and help us with the yard.
We're horrible gardeners, so we always need help with the yard.
And I love the football teams that come and help
us clean out underneath the house and pull out all
the Christmas decorations and things like that so that we'll
(11:25):
find something for you. Walgreens is wonderful. They come all
the time, and you know, we'll make beds whatever we need,
so we'll we'll come up with the project. Just you
just reach out to volunteer at Ronald McDonald House, Charleston
and we'll go from there.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
And I'm sure you can just search Ronald McDonald House, Charleston,
and and find the website there, and what is the
website offhand in case anybody can sure managed to retain that?
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Sure, it's our m H. Charleston dot org. Sonald McDonald House,
Charleston dot org, R m H. Charleston dot org.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
I'm sure that every child and every family that comes
through the Ronald McDonald House must evoke all kinds of
emotions from you and your staff. Is there any one
case that particularly stands out?
Speaker 2 (12:20):
That's such a loaded question?
Speaker 1 (12:21):
It is?
Speaker 2 (12:22):
It really is?
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Because everybody's special. Obviously, I'm sure every single one of
them touches your heart, But is there one there.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Really is that? I think it's just like life. There's
times when different things impact you. You know you something's
going on with you, and so you pick up on
something different. I think I recently was very impressed with
one of my teammates when she planned with some of
(12:53):
the volunteers and donors a special birthday party for an
autistic child so that he could celebrate. But of course
we had to do that in a different manner, so
he had all the hooplah without any of the angst.
I inspired every Friday when there's a CFO from Mount
(13:15):
Pleasant who comes and takes off his morning and comes
and works with my maintenance manager because he was a
child in a Ronald McDonald house years ago. But I
think the one that's resonating with me the most is
still this past holiday season when I helped answer the door.
There was a lot going on in the house. The
(13:37):
dog was barking all this stuff, and so I helped
answer the door, and there was this beautiful young woman,
she had to be maybe thirteen. She had her hands
full right. There was a barbie and favorite cookies, some
science books, this workbooks, just games. And so I was
helping her bring these things in because we create a
(13:59):
Santa line for the families to choose gifts for their
children during the holidays. And I was helping her carry
these items in, and I asked her the question I
always ask everybody. Why, Yes, there's so many great charities
in Charleston. Why Ronald McDonald's house. And she said, because
you guys saved my life. And I said, oh, honey,
(14:21):
I'm sorry you were a patient. You're better now, And
she said, no, no, no, no, I wasn't the patient. My
sister was. But you guys are the ones who made
my life bearable because everything was about my sister at
that stage. It had to be. She said, So you're
the ones who packed my lunches, You're the ones who
played with me after school. And she said, I'm just
(14:42):
waiting to be sixteen years old so I can come
volunteer regularly with you. And so I think she's my
current inspiration.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
That is such a sweet story.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
There are just so many, so many join us. You
have to come down, well, you just have to come down.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
The impact that you have, you know, not only on
the children, but on their families, on their siblings. Yeah,
in the reach that it has, the impact that it
has not only on the families, but on you know,
society in the end of.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
The day, and even families who have lost the child.
I recently met someone there, such a charming couple, and
they brought me all the pop tabs that we collect
because you know, we tried every recycle and be environmentally correct.
So they collect their pop tabs and I was helping
them unload them and they handed me a check and
(15:34):
they said, let me tell you the story behind the check.
We match we do. We play in a golf tournament
every year and at the end of the golf tournament,
we sit there and we do shots, and for every
shot we do, we match it because we lost a
child and so our friends, you know, play off this
this this game of shots, and the check basically came
(15:57):
from that game. So it's their way of giving back,
even though you know their particular child didn't make it.
It's like I said, it's a very special place. It's
a place to share and it gives you a lot
of great hope in humanity sometimes when we need it,
when we're listening to the news and you know life
(16:18):
doesn't seem that happy.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
Absolutely well, you know, on CEOs, you should know, we
talk about the organization, but we also talk about the individual.
So let's talk about you a little bit. Tell us
about your journey and becoming CEO of the Charleston Ronald
McDonald House.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Oh wow. I grew up in Charleston and this community
was always very good to me growing up. But then
I did, like a lot of kids, I went away
to college and started my professional career in many parts
of this country and then abroad. I worked and lived
(16:56):
abroad for a period of time and was in the
hospitality industry, specifically in experiential marketing. So I did big events,
you know, the Olympics, NBA All Star weekends, this type
of thing, and my father, we saw, was beginning end
of life, and I came home to actually help my
(17:20):
sister during that period and the rest of my family.
And during that period I met people from the Ronald
McDonald house I did. I assisted with a fundraiser and
was just so impressed with everybody I touched and really
quite honestly didn't think about it beyond that moment. And
(17:43):
then later when the position became available, I applied. I
wasn't really ready to move back to Charleston. I knew,
I always knew I would eventually, but they I think
that's another reason I love the charity so much. They
gave me the opportunity to come back home and be
with him in the last couple of years of his life.
So yeah, so I kind of always been in hospitality,
(18:08):
but now, like I said, I kind of run a
little hotel for families of sick children.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
So that has to be just, you know, an emotional
journey in that position. What's the philosophy that drives you
each day.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
I think it's urgency. I think I'm not a patient
person on many levels, and I think being around families
struggling for a child to make it, it's the urgency
that presses me every day that we need to do
(18:44):
it here and now. We can't necessarily wait. We need
to grasp life and its rewards immediately. So I think
that's probably my underlying motivation. Yeah, I think it's urgency.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
Well, it was fantastic to talk to you today, and
you do great work at the Charleston Ronald McDonald.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
Y'all for all of your support. This community is so giving.
We would not be where we are today without it,
and quite honestly, we're not going to get where we
need to go without it. So I thank you for
telling our story and reminding everyone that we're still there
(19:32):
on Calhoun Street and we need your help.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
Well absolutely, and I mean and I mean this literally,
it's the very least we can do because of the
fantastic work that you do. Thanks and if anybody wants
to help and donate, give that phone number one more time.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
Our phone number is eight four to three seven two
three seven nine five.
Speaker 3 (19:54):
Seven eight four three.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
Seven two three seven nine five seven all.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
Right, perfect, And then if anybody wants to volunteer, just
go to the website and that was r m H
Charleston dot com.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
R m H Charleston dot com dot org, oh dot org,
rm H Charleston dot org exactly. You know, if you
have any extra time and UH and any extra funds,
help out the Ronald McDonald House of Charleston because they
do great work.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
Kathy KP. Papa Demetrio very good, I love it, CEO
of the Charleston Ronald McDonald House, Thanks so much for
your time today. You've been listening to iHeartRadio CEOs you
should know, heard every Tuesday and Saturday morning right here
on this iHeartRadio station.
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