McDonald House
On May 7, the 17th annual McGala, Touching Hearts Around the World had one of its largest turnouts ever. About 550 people came for a night of fun to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities of Jacksonville. Northeast Florida has many pediatric facilities and specialists and is a health care destination for sick children worldwide. Ronald McDonald House provides lodging and support services to families whose children need special services. It alleviates high hotel expenses, and makes it possible for families to stay together near their sick child.
“This event raises over 30 percent of our operating budget,” said Chairwoman April Devine of Jacksonville Beach. As a teen, Devine stayed at the Atlanta Ronald McDonald House to be near and support a critically ill friend hospitalized there. “When she moved to Jacksonville, Devine looked for a charity to help. “I wanted to get involved, and then I remembered my experience in Atlanta, and have been involved ever since,” she said.
The fun-filled evening began with an innovative silent auction featuring automatic bidding by cell phone. Egad! What is the world coming to? Instead of asking guests to turn off their cell phones, volunteers registered their phones at check-in, and were encouraged to keep them on to bid by text throughout the evening. Folks without a phone – or who had a dead battery – went to stations to enter bids for golf packages, gift baskets, jewelry, gourmet food and wine and getaways. Volunteers circulated with iPads to assist. There was no running back to the auction table to see if you were outbid; as higher offers were made for items already bid on, the phone alerted bidders with a text, so they could re-bid from wherever they were. It’s the first time this system has been used in the Jacksonville area, and it is most effective, I was told.
While people clutched their phones, they enjoyed pre-dinner music by Peter Dearing and appetizers by TacoLu and Blue Bamboo. The KTG band played for dinner and dancing in the ballroom. Other entertainment included dueling pianos, casino games and a stellar live auction. First Coast News anchor Deanna Fene emceed the event, and Vistakon, a division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, was presenting sponsor.
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Posted by Qtego
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Jacksonville Florida creates magic in the lives of more than 1,100 families each year. The magic may not always be obvious to the casual observer, but to the families we serve the magic is around every corner. It is in the relief they experience when they are greeted by a smiling volunteer after a long day of treatments, or in the look of understanding they can only get from a another parent of a sick child. The magic is in the way children with wheelchairs, little girls without hair and kids who don’t always feel like they fit in, feel magically at home when they come through these doors. Thanks to the support of donors, volunteers and attendees RMHC Jacksonville will continue to make magical memories for thousands of families.
