Imagine a city where only one family of a sick child is forced by lack of accommodations to camp out in a hospital’s waiting room. “That’s still one family too many,” says Chad Bringman (Univ Coll ’98, MBA ’04), president and executive director of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northwest Ohio.
He knows that there’s no such city. At the rambling Ronald McDonald House (circa 1906) in West Toledo, occupancy is almost always at full. “Right now we have no wait list,” Chad says. “That’s unusual.”
Everyone knows about the Ronald McDonald Houses, residences around the world that provide families of seriously ill children with a home away from home — but Chad often has the chance to clear up some common misconceptions.
The free family accommodation, for instance, isn’t restricted to situations where a child is being treated for some form of cancer. “Any type of serious injury or illness is part of our mission,” he says. “As long as the child is receiving treatment at a medical facility, family members can stay here.
That medical facility doesn’t have to be Toledo Hospital, which is adjacent to Ronald McDonald House. “I’ve worked very hard with our board to change the public perception on that,” Chad says. “I’ve had conversations, for instance, with the administration of Mercy Hospital to talk about how we can better serve patients there, and plan to talk with [UT President] Lloyd Jacobs.”
He adds, “[Access to Toledo Hospital] is easy with our proximity, and of course Toledo Hospital is the major children’s oncology hospital in the area. Major is one thing, though, but we have an X factor: X number of families in the area need our services; how do we get them here? Is a shuttle service needed?
“We’re looking into options. Because there’s nothing worse than having your very sick child in a hospital. When that happens, even 15 minutes is still too far away.”
Such heart-felt advocacy has had a long time to form; Chad’s worked with special populations since leaving high school, when he performed direct care for MR/DD clients with the Northwest Ohio Developmental Center. In fact, his first attempt at college wasn’t successful because of the hours he put in at the center. “I may have made up for it once I enrolled in University College,” he grins. “I was working full time and earned my bachelor’s degree in less than three years.”
After a stint as a behavior specialist for the Lucas County Board of MR/DD, he joined the Epilepsy Center as the director of its residential program, where he administered the running of group homes for MR/DD clients as well as working with epilepsy clients. He was also finishing up his MBA.
“I often asked myself why I was working on an MBA in finance when I was loving my work as a behavior specialist, but I was a finance major out of high school. And six days after earning my MBA, I was offered the CEO position at the Epilepsy Center.”
Making the move to Ronald McDonald House Charities in 2007 involved similar self-examining. “I spent a lot of time considering whether to come here. Not that I had anything against Ronald McDonald House, but I really enjoyed where I was and felt that I’d be leaving everything I’d accomplished and everything I knew. As soon as you get here, though, you realize that’s not the case.
“Our true job when working with people who have disabilities is to include them in the world. Ronald McDonald House is a tribute to that. People in wheelchairs or those with specific disabilities can just stay here — they’re just part of Ronald McDonald House.”
As inclusion grows, so does the need. “It’s never been bigger,” Chad says. “We have 14 rooms here, and we’re almost always full with a wait list. Even if we don’t have an overnight room for a family, they can still come here to do their laundry, take a shower or do some of the everyday things we take for granted until we need them.
“Counting day guests, we’ve had as many as 26 families using the house at the same time.”
The house’s pop-tab program can be thanked, he says, for much of what Ronald McDonald House is able to accomplish. “Here’s some math. In 2007, collected aluminum pop-can tabs, almost 27,000 pounds of them, paid for 100 percent of all the food we needed for our guests.” (Accumulated tabs can be delivered to the house at 3883 Monroe Street.)
He notes, “I always make a point of noting how very generous Toledoans are. The giving in this town, given the size is it, is amazing. We rely wholly on donations. Lacking a secondary billing source, we have to stay in the public eye and remind people of what we do.”
He’s keeping an eye on donations in the current economic downturn, but adds, “We have a very small staff and we’re very efficient, with 88 cents on the dollar donated going to the families. We’re very proud of that, as the Better Business Bureau uses 65 percent as the benchmark for nonprofits.”
The staff — and the volunteers who help provide the 500 to 700 hours a month needed for the house — are familiar with the heartbreak factor of the job. “We’re fortunate here in that many times, the child recovers and the family goes on with its life. Other Ronald McDonald Houses around the world, those next door to cancer units, are less fortunate.
There’s nothing I can say to describe how terribly difficult it is for all concerned when a child dies. We had a little one recently, about six weeks old, who lost his battle. The parents came right in here afterward.
“We have such a family home atmosphere here that it’s not uncommon for the family members to come to the house manager and cry on her shoulder. As difficult a time as it is, it’s nice to know that we can be here for the families.”
Chad brightens when he mentions Ronald McDonald House Charities’ grants program, which supports local nonprofits that enrich children’s lives. “It’s one way we can give back to Toledo,” he says.
“I love what we’re doing here. We have a great facility, a great staff and a great board — when you have a small staff, you depend on your board. Ours roll up their sleeves and they’re here to volunteer.” Being a finance major, he can’t help adding, “Nationally, a volunteer hour is valued today at about $19. I read that and think what a tremendous gift we have from our volunteers.”
And then it’s time to get back to the work that’s unlikely to diminish any time soon. “It’s unfortunate that we’re as busy as we are, but it’s good that we’re here,” he says.
“Do we have a save-the-world answer right now? No, but we’re working on it!” Check out the latest at www.rmhctoledo.org.