In March 2015, our family had the opportunity to stay at Ronald McDonald House near Lurie Children’s in order to be close to our son, Jack, while he underwent his open heart surgery for a congenital heart defect. We are incredibly grateful for the support we received at “The House”. The Ronald McDonald House made a difficult time in our lives a lot more comfortable. During a time that our family was under so much stress and worry, we had a clean, welcoming and comfortable place where we could sleep, eat, and be with our daughter, Evelyn. We also got a chance to connect with other families.
Jack’s birthday is in November, so to honor him while paying it forward to others, we started the Give Thanks Project in fall 2015. We collect gifts and gift cards to create packages for every family staying at The Ronald McDonald House on Thanksgiving Day. Being able to serve these families and connect with them in a meaningful way to provide hope and joy is our main purpose.
We never imagined that we would have a reason to stay at the Ronald McDonald House again, however, in August 2017, our son, Owen, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. This required us to spend a lot of time at Lurie Children’s Hospital as his treatment plan lasted for two years. Thankfully, we were able to utilize “The House” a few times while Owen was in the hospital. It really helped us keep our family close together.
We are honored to keep Jack Walker’s Give Thanks Project going year after year. It has become our family's Thanksgiving tradition and it feels great to help other families during difficult parts of their medical journeys. In 2022, our family relocated to the Charlotte, NC area, and we now support families at both the Chicago and Charlotte houses on Thanksgiving!
Our project was recently featured by Fort Mill School District. Take a look below!