Ronald McDonald House in Windsor

By Aaron Lombardi

 

 

The Ronald McDonald House is a facility for families coping with the process of cancer treatment and will open in Windsor this spring.

 

A grand player piano sits in the centre ballroom of Windsor’s Ciociaro Club on Saturday.  Three candlelit chandeliers provided a lighting suitable to the banquet hosted by the In Honour of the Ones We Love charity.  CTV’s Arms Bumanlag began the evening introductions.

 

“After 18 years, the In Honour of the Ones We Love team has their vision to ensure that the Windsor-Essex Community has access to the best medical equipment and to make the patient-family life as stress free as possible,” said Bumanlag during his remarks.

 

The Windsor Regional Hospital campus plans to open a Ronald McDonald house to accommodate families in Windsor.

 

“The goal for tonight is to raise $200,000 which will be staying in Windsor and going towards the construction of a Ronald McDonald house in our city,” said Bumanlag.

 

Margaret Anderson is the director of Ronald McDonald Houses in Southwestern Ontario, Anderson attended the banquet to promote the new construction and tell the audience about its importance for families going through troubling situations.

 

“Once we started doing the research we found out things were much greater than what we thought possible,” said Anderson. “With a seven bedroom facility located inside of the hospital, this Ronald McDonald House will be the first of its kind in Canada.”

 

 

A special Above and Beyond Award was given to Cathy Hendy, a member of the In Honour of the Ones We Love team for her contributions to the charity.

 

“It takes many volunteer hands joining together to help make In Honour (of the Ones We Love) what it has become today,” said Hendy.

 

The In Honour of the Ones We Love charity was formed in 1998 by Anita Imperioli who lost her infant son Michael to leukemia. Imperioli announced the opening of the new Ronald McDonald House by May 6, 2016.