Group Serves Up Dinner and Love at Ronald McDonald House

When Grand Terrace resident Stacey Peters-Hernandez of Shadow Mountain Baptist Church in Yucaipa took a tour of the Loma Linda Ronald McDonald House for the first time this past May, she was touched. Seeing the amazing things the house does, she said, she wanted to contribute in some way. On Aug. 7, she got that chance. Stacey Peters-Hernandez, an account executive with City News Group, was joined that Wednesday evening by City News Group Publisher Margie Miller, CNG Editor Helena Mitchell, Stacey’s mother Sheryl Peters and her aunt Elena Humphrey to prepare and serve a meal to the dozens of families staying at the house. “You go in and you see all these amazing things that they do,” said Peters-Hernandez of her drive to volunteer with the home. “[You realize] there’s so much that you take for granted when you look at someone else and see what they’re going through.” Together, the group of five purchased and cooked 10 pounds of spaghetti, 100 slices of garlic bread and six bags of salad, with spaghetti sauce donated by Loma Linda-based Napoli Italian Restaurant to feed the multitude of families staying at the Loma Linda Ronald McDonald House (LLRMH), plus takeaway orders from some of the “overflow” families, or those families who were not staying overnight at the house. The food was prepared entirely at the LLRMH kitchen, and the group volunteered around 4 hours—arriving at 4:30 p.m. and staying through the mid-evening to clean dishes and mop their work space—to make sure no one was left unfed. More than 24 families each night are supported at the LLRMH, with up to 12 additional families placed in local motels by the home until rooms become available. Families stay in the home for an average duration of eight days. The LLRMH opened on Sept. 11, 1996. Since its opening, it has served more than 16,000 families worldwide, providing a home away from home for the families whose children are receiving medical care at the Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital and other nearby medical centers. Through donations and other contributions like that from this group of five, the home operates smoothly each day. The experience was so rewarding for the group that Peters-Hernandez says she and her family plan to continue contributing their time to purchase, cook and serve a dinner once a month through the rest of the year, even donating their time on major holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Margie Miller, a member of Ronald McDonald House Advisory Board, said, “I am so proud of the CNG staff member Stacey Peters-Hernandez. Her church, Shadow Mountain Baptist Church in Yucaipa, led by her husband, Pastor Jonathan Hernandez, is such a warm and giving congregation. They do so much to support the communities they serve. It is no surprise their new enthusiasm for Ronald McDonald House.” “You go in and you see how thankful the families are,” said Peters-Hernandez. “My mom said to me after we were done, ‘Don’t you feel like you’ve actually accomplished something today?’ You leave there a different person.” Her aunt Elena Humphrey said the feeling was unlike anything else. “It’s just a totally awesome feeling. It fills your soul with goodness, and it makes you want to do it again.” As a mother of two and a grandmother of five, Elena said it was rewarding caring for all in the home. “It goes from the biggest to the littlest, doesn’t it? You care for them all. And I encourage anyone who has the time to go down [to the LLRMH] and try [volunteering.]” “The experience was indescribable,” said Sheryl Peters. “When I first went in there, my maternal compassion really came out, and I felt kind of saddened, but then I started cooking and I saw the families coming in. After I saw how happy they were, I felt wonderful.” For Peters-Hernandez, the experience showed her the importance of being thankful, she noted. With a daughter who was in an incubator a week after she was born, but is now well and healthy, she feels it’s important to count your blessings. “As a mom, you can’t take it for granted that your kids are okay,” said Peters-Hernandez. The Loma Linda Ronald McDonald House takes various contributions and donations, including their Cooks for Kids, Wish List, Pull Tabs, Pennies from the Heart, used car donation programs and more.