Season Three - Episode Eight - Ronald McDonald House Saskatoon

Spend some time in the Ronald McDonald House here in Saskatoon and you will feel a lot of things.

You will feel the kindness of staff as they work to serve the families that are calling the house home while going through extremely challenging times.

You will feel creativity as you discover all the big and little things within the house designed to make a family's stay as pleasant as possible.

And I think you will feel the strength of an organization that has people pulling in the same direction to serve families.

I feel fortunate to have spent a morning back in February in the Ronald McDonald House and that I get to share that experience with you in this episode.

The Covid-19 pandemic, as you will hear, has made the mission of the Ronald McDonald House (which is to provide programs for families with sick children that positively impact the health and wellbeing of the entire family) a bit more challenging to fulfill. 

What you will also hear are people who love what they do at the house and are working together to ensure families are taken care of. 

You will hear from the following team members in this episode, and each provide a unique perspective on the organization and what the past year has been like.

• Tammy Forrester - CEO
• Karen Linsley - Director of Development and Communications
• Kim Gilbert - Director of Human Resource Development
• Stephanie Turner-Chiasson - Director of Finance
• Marcelline Zimmer - Director of Operations

You will also hear from Regina's Andrea Schick who shares her family's experience of staying at a Ronald McDonald House. 

I can't imagine a more harrowing experience as a parent than rushing your child to the hospital, especially if you have no idea what is wrong with them. Some Saskatchewan families in this situation travel to Saskatoon in search of answers at the Jim Pattison Children's Hospital and often they end up spending time at the Ronald McDonald. 

I hope this episode gives you a sense of what happens inside the house and how not even a global pandemic can get in the way of this team fulfilling its mission for Saskatchewan families. 

Follow and subscribe to YXE Underground on Apple Podcasts or wherever you find your favourite podcasts. Stream episodes on Spotify or the website. Don't forget to leave a review if you like what you hear. 

A big thank you to the Ronald McDonald House team for welcoming Rona and I with open arms! We both appreciate your kindness and generosity.

Special thanks to Saskatoon's Michelle's Flowers for supporting this episode. 

Thank you for supporting a local, independent podcast! It means a lot.

Cheers...Eric

• Host, Producer, Editor: Eric Anderson
• Theme Music: Andrew Dickson
• Website: https://www.yxeunderground.com
• Recorded: On Treaty 6 Territory and the traditional homeland of the Metis