Danville Christian Church Continues Comfort Food Ministry During Pandemic
Before the Pandemic hit, Danville Christian Church (DCC) spent time with families at the local Ronald McDonald House (RMH) in Danville, Indiana once a month. As stay at home orders were issued, congregation members of DCC worried about how they’d be able to keep their partnership with RMH and still support their other ministries, so they applied for a COVID-19 NBA Response Grant to ensure the partnership continues.
On the fourth Thursday of every month DCC celebrates Ronald McDonald House (RMH) day. There’s so much magic that happens on this special day each month.
The day begins with a package from our “blanket angels.” Each month, they leave a big white bag at the door marked RMH, inside are six kid-sized, fringed, fleece blankets. We don’t know who does this, but they appear like clockwork every month; it’s like magic! Next, dishes of salads and desserts appear on the kitchen table downstairs. Around 3:30 p.m., a group of four people arrive and start collecting things they will take to Ronald McDonald House, which is about 20 miles from here. They collect paper cups, napkins, plastic tableware, serving utensils, ice, a cooler, and a big three-dish tabletop warmer for serving. The group loads the food, blankets, utensils, and themselves in a van. It is generally a tight fit, but no one seems to mind.
The van turns right into Chick-fil-A where two huge platters of chicken fingers and chicken nuggets are waiting for them. With chicken loaded into the van, they are off to RMH where they are warmly welcomed. RMH has great wagons to use for moving all the food and blankets down the halls of the Danville Ronald McDonald House, and back to the large gathering room. Everything is unpacked and on the serving table; iced tea, lemonade, and water are ready on a small serving table and blankets are hung.
A voice on the loudspeaker announces than dinner is being served. Parents and siblings from all walks of life come to eat fellowship with each other, and to visit with and thank the Danville Christian Church volunteers for being there and bringing comfort food to them. After an hour or so has passed, it is time to clean up, pack up and head back to DCC where the van is unpacked, and everything is put away for next month. It is a long, tiring day, but more than anything it is a fulfilling day. Many times, quiet, silent, tears are shed. Everyone goes home with prayers on their hearts for the RMH families, for RMH caregivers, and for each other and how blessed we are to have healthy children.
