One family from Essex is reminding the community just how far a purchase on McHappy Day goes to support families during their most difficult times.
Kelly Dunwoody and her partner, Todd Gee, spent 49 nights at the Ronald McDonald House Southwestern Ontario after their daughter Olive was born in June 2023.
Olive, a twin, had a brain bleed and was taken to the London hospital soon after she was born. Her sister Haisley was admitted to the NICU in Windsor as she learned to eat on her own, but her outlook was positive.
Dunwoody said the house, its staff, and volunteers made the stressful time bearable.
"There was always hot food at lunch and dinner. I didn't have to worry about taking care of myself because they took care of me and they made it possible for me to be 100 per cent present for my daughter," said Dunwoody.
Two weeks into Olive's hospital stay in London, Haisley was discharged from the Windsor hospital. Dunwoody said she returned to Essex to give her daughter a "regular" newborn homecoming.
"I spent one night here in Essex at our residence, and I called Todd and said I'm coming home, and that was the word I used to describe the Ronald McDonald House Charity at that time. I am coming home, we need to be together as a family," said Dunwoody. "That is how important the house is. When we got there, that felt like the right place to be."
The house provided everything they needed so support Haisley and Olive during that time.
The 31st McHappy Day event is Thursday May 8. Every purchase all day will go toward supporting the local charity. Guests can also round up their purchase to donate more to the charity or purchase McHappy Day socks.
"Ronald McDonald House Charities have given us absolutely everything that we need and the only way that this house and charity can continue to function the way that it's functioning is for people to give," said Dunwoody.
Now nearly two years later, Dunwoody says they still keep in touch with the staff and volunteers at the house who helped them through the family's difficult start.
"They're doing really well, and we always send updates to the house on their birthdays and other significant days to let them know that they're doing really well," said Dunwoody. "Everyone is happy and healthy and doing a lot better than I ever anticipated in June 2023."
In 2024, RMHC across Canada supported more than 28,920 families.
The RMHC Southwestern Ontario has a house and family room in London and a house in Windsor within the hospital. Families from over 300 local communities were supported by the charity last year.