2023 CBS Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House Charities Telethon underway
UPDATE: CBS Philadelphia's 14th Ronald McDonald House Charities Telethon raises $1 million
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- What better way to start the holiday season than by giving back and helping children in our communities?
Join CBS Philadelphia today, Thursday, Nov. 16, for our 14th annual telethon supporting Ronald McDonald House Charities from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Fundraising segments will air throughout the day, most notably during newscasts and one-hour specials that will air at 9 a.m., 3 p.m., and 7 p.m. on CBS Philadelphia and CBS Philadelphia Streaming.
The phones are now open and volunteers are in place in CBS Philadelphia's Great Hall to take your call. Give us until 8 p.m. at 1-888-506-HOPE to donate.
How to donate!
Volunteers are here to take your calls at 1-888-506-HOPE, but there are other ways to donate if you can't find time to give us a ring.
Here's how else you can donate.
Text: The word "FAMILY" to 20222 to make a $25 donation (message and data rates may apply)
Online: www.rmhtelethon.org/donate
Venmo: @RMHCPhillyRegion
What makes Ronald McDonald Houses special?
Jennifer Sciolla with Nemours Children's Health of Delaware explained why they decided to donate to the Ronald McDonald House Charities.
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola presented a $32,500 donation to Ronald McDonald Houses during our telethon. A representative with Coca-Cola explained why the company picked the RMHC to support.
"This house is like home sweet home"
Imagine leaving everything behind that you hold near and dear to you. Your family, your home, your job, all to take care of an ill child. It's a story shared by many families inside the Ronald McDonald Houses.
Sura Alfallooji and her husband Layth left behind their family and their careers as pharmacists in Baghdad, Iraq to seek medical treatment for their son, Adam Alnuaimi, at Shriner's Hospital for Children. They've found another home at the Ronald McDonald House in Camden, New Jersey.
How RMHC is helping this Swiftie
A New Jersey sixth grader who is a huge Taylor Swift fan is spending time at the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House, and the Swiftie is just starting to do everything a 12-year-old should love to do again.
"We call this home"
Meet 11-year-old Rachelly Ocasio, who will soon be cancer-free after battling leukemia. She's been undergoing chemotherapy at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, and her and her family from Vineland, New Jersey, have been staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia.
For them, the house is where they feel comfortable.
"What made it most comfortable is the people, the staff members," Emmanuel Ocasio said. "They treat you as if they understand what you're going through."
"She's definitely like a miracle"
The first surgery, Christiane Bond and her husband knew baby Clara would have. The second, they didn't expect at all. Enter the Ronald McDonald House.
For the seven weeks that Clara was in the hospital, the Ronald McDonald House became home for the Bonds.
"I'd say OK, 'I'm going home, I'm going to the Ronald House, it's our home right now,'" Bond said. "We could shower and then have the meals, which we'd have dinners, and sometimes they had breakfast."
"She's the happiest little kid you'll ever meet"
Ainsley Gray has defied all kinds of dire predictions. Her parents diligently worked to help their first child endure all kinds of medical interventions.
"She's the happiest little kid you'll ever meet," Brady Gray, her father, said. "She keeps us grounded she keeps us focused on what's important."
A home away from home
For two families from Puerto Rico, the Ronald McDonald House in Camden helps them brave the health challenges together.
"We're so close to the hospital"
Six-year-old Penelope Kathryn Webster was born with spina bifida. Also know as Pepper, she and her mother are staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia at at minimal or no cost -- and hospital treatments and medical procedures are right, so to speak, in their own backyard.
