Ronald McDonald House celebrates 25 years of sheltering families
When the holiday lights were switched on Monday at the Ronald McDonald House in Buffalo, it also was intended to direct a spotlight on nonprofit organization’s 25th anniversary.
Since opening its doors Dec. 8, 1983, the house at 780 W. Ferry St. has been a home-away-from-home for more than 17,000 families who hail not only from the local community, but from around the world.
Joaquin and Andrea Aristizabal of Bogota, Colombia, and their three children are among those families, many of whom returned Monday for an open house where they could watch Santa Claus throw the switch to light the holiday decorations around the exterior of the former mansion.
The Aristizabals have been staying at the Ronald McDonald House for six months, a few months after their youngest son, Sebastian, was born prematurely in Buffalo. Now 14 months old, Sebastian’s premature birth left the baby with a multitude of ailments for which he is being treated at Women and Children’s Hospital.
“If we don’t have this, I don’t know what we can [do],” Sebastian’s father, Joaquin Aristizabal, said. “You know, always we are so happy to come here and celebrate. These people, they don’t just give us food and shelter. They give us too much. They spend a lot of time with us.
“You know, we are not from here, which means we don’t have any kind of family here or friends. These people here, they are our friends.”
The family, which had been on its way to Canada just before Sebastian was born, has since sought asylum in the United States and now hopes to relocate permanently to Buffalo instead.
The Ronald McDonald House is seeking to continue its mission to provide affordable accommodations and emotional support to families of sick or injured children who are receiving medical treatment at Buffalo-area hospitals.
Sally Vincent, executive director of the Ronald McDonald House, said that the house is maintained solely through community donations and that it depends mightily on the support of volunteers who contribute thousands of hours of service each year.
The Buffalo house is part of a worldwide network of more than 250 Ronald McDonald Houses, and is owned and operated by a volunteer board of directors.
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