By Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com
There may have been some commotion at Pickwick Place Thursday night, and for good reason, as the Hullabaloo for the House was held to benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio.
The Hullabaloo for the House featured raffles, silent auctions, and games for prizes with all proceeds benefiting the Ronald McDonald House in order for it to continue its operation of serving families from surrounding counties with children who are hospitalized at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
Hannah Jacobs, a member of the committee that helped plan the event, explained where the Hullaballoo for the House idea originated.
“The Ronald McDonald House actually has a series of events that are (called) Handbag Hullabaloo and so they do this in different counties throughout Ohio to raise funds, because the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio serves surrounding counties including Crawford,” Jacobs said.
“The CEO of Ohio Mutual is also the Board President for the Ronald McDonald House. So there was a natural connection there, and there was an opportunity to really show the impact in Crawford County. And so we are really excited to put this on to support the families who are served by the Ronald McDonald House, who are local, and how it touches our community,” Jacobs continued.
Jacobs was pleased with the outpouring of support for the Hullabaloo for the House so far.
“We have had really great support from our sponsors,” Jacobs said. “That is where the bulk of our funds come from, so we are really grateful for that outpouring of support from the business community as well as individuals who have been charitable, but we are really hoping that we can generate a lot of excitement, and get a lot involved with this, and hopefully this becomes an annual event as well.”
The event’s master of ceremonies was Hannah’s husband, Tyler Jacobs. Jacobs, who will be taking over for Deb Pinion as the Director of the Bucyrus Area Chamber of Commerce in November, explained how he came into the MC position.
“I had just been asked to be the MC for tonight. This was really put on by the Ronald McDonald House in coordination with the Ohio Mutual Insurance Group. My wife Hannah works for Ohio Mutual, and thought it would be a good opportunity as I am stepping into my new role as the Executive Director for the Chamber of Commerce, and said to come in, volunteer my time for a good cause, and just have a good night.”
The guest speaker for the evening was Andrea Thomas. During her speech, Thomas shared her story of the Ronald McDonald House being there for her and her family when her son Eric was life-flighted to Nationwide Children’s Hospital after an ATV accident.
“About six years ago my son was involved in a pretty bad accident, and we stayed there for a couple of nights, and it was a real relief to be able to have a place to stay and not have to worry about having to pay for a hotel, and that kind of thing,” Thomas said of her experiences with the Ronald McDonald House. “It was great, they were very warm and welcoming, and everything we needed was there. We didn’t have to worry about food and drink and a place to rest. It was great.”
With the event being a western theme a few friends brought along a couple of ponies. Susan Rush, who made the horses, explained where the idea to bring the toy horses came from.
“I actually made them for another event, it was actually for the Kentucky Derby. We had a faux race, so when I found out we were coming here, we decided to bring the horses with us,” Rush said. “Tonight though, we are looking forward to fun with friends and donating to the Ronald McDonald House.”
“We get to be with friends and best of all we don’t have to clean up after the horses when we are done with them,” Robin Showers added.
According to Jacobs, in 2015, 53 families in Crawford County stayed an average of five nights at the Ronald McDonald House for a total cost of services of $29,000. The total amount of individuals served from the county were 181 for a total of 290 nights provided.
Prior to the games beginning, the Ohio Mutual Insurance Group announced they would be donating $1,000 or enough for 10 night stay at the Ronald McDonald House on top of the proceeds that were raised at the Hullabaloo for the House.
Providing dinner entertainment was the Stateside Sinners consisting of Hobo Band bandmates John Schnabel and Al Frasier. The meal was catered by Katering Kountry Style.
For more information on the Ronald McDonald House of Central Ohio visit their webpage at rmhc-centralohio.org, or their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/RMHCofCentralOhio.