06 Apr Kerry’s Corner: April 2020

I hope this note finds you and your family well.

Times have changed. Life as it was is no longer – at least for the foreseeable future. The order of the day is adapting and pivoting to our new reality.

I have made a conscious effort to stick to my pre-COVID-19 morning routine as much as possible. My husband, Brian, and I get up each morning and walk our neighborhood loop around Camelback Mountain. The same rooster crows every morning as if he knows we are there. The birds sing. Wildflowers are beginning to bloom. The smell of orange blossoms fills the air. From the top, we look out over our beautiful city as the sun rises and for a moment, things feel normal.  Calm.  Quiet. Peaceful.

The rest of my day has become less routine. My husband works from home, two of our children are home from college continuing their studies online. Our third son, who is in high school, is adjusting to siblings being home again and to an online learning platform. All three are doing their part by staying home knowing their actions impact others, and vice versa. It’s not easy but they know we all have a very important role to play. Oh, and our three dogs. They have everyone home together again and couldn’t be happier!

Here at Ronald McDonald House Charities^® of Central and Northern Arizona, we continue to serve and support families who are in the Valley receiving medical treatment for their children. We are working closely with our hospital partners to ensure we are aligned in our precautions and protocols to protect the families we serve, as well as to support and protect our dedicated team who is working tirelessly to keep daily operations running at our three Valley Houses. Although we are not currently accepting new families into the Houses, we continue to be here for those who are receiving ongoing critical care and, at the request of our physician and social work partners, we are honoring requests for families to extend their stays with us.

Our Houses are quiet. Families are focusing on caring for their children in hopes of being able to return home to see and care for their other children and extended family. Our common spaces are currently closed but thanks to so many of you, we are still coordinating and providing dinners for our families.

This would be impossible without those who have made donations to keep the program going during these challenging times.

We miss seeing our volunteers and our Dinnertime Heroes! Thank you for staying close and donating as you can.  Every penny counts.

We miss seeing our extraordinary Board of Directors who so enthusiastically give of their time and talent to support our executive team and our mission.

I personally miss our amazing team. Most are working remotely for now, planning and preparing to be ready to go when things turn around. And I can’t thank our operations team enough for showing up every day to keep our doors open.

This will pass and when it does, I am looking forward to seeing you all again and continuing to do what we do best in “the House that love built.”

“When you can’t do what you do, you do what you can.” Jon Bon Jovi

With gratitude,

Kerry Schulman
Chief Executive Officer