There are Ronald McDonald Houses all over the world. Some of them take part in the pop can tabs project, and some do not. If they do not take part, there is an associated hospital which participates in many cases. What is this project all about? Read on and find out and see how easy it is for you to help. The tabs help generate money to care for families while their children are undergoing treatment.

When children are stricken with cancer, they have to receive treatment, many times away from home. Their families stay in The Ronald McDonald House while this is taking place. Children with other illnesses receive treatment, too; and their families are also welcome at Ronald McDonald House. Karla Vana, one of our angels says:

I think some people think they are used only by families affected by cancer. They're actually utilized by families of children needing any long-term care. In residency, our RmcD house was often inhabited by families with infants born very prematurely with expected hospital stays of weeks or even months. Staying at the house was on a first-come first-served basis and that often made things difficult.

One of our angels has a special true story about the Ronald House. Liz Thompson writes:

About 10 years ago, it was discovered (quite by accident) that my father had pancreatic/small intestine cancer. He had a very radical surgery that lasted over 13 hours and then spent the next month in the ICU. During that time, my mother stayed with him (which was a little over 2 hrs from our home) She stayed in a hostel that was located very near the hospital, but occassionally if you did not reserve your room in advance, there would be no place for you to stay. One time when I went down to be with her we ran into this trouble. . .no room at the hostel for us both, so they called around and found out that there was room at the Ronald McDonald House that night. Neither of us was a child and of course my father wasn't either, but they let us stay there that night anyway. It was a beautiful house whose rooms were so geared towards children. There were stuffed animals and good quality toys and decorations on the walls and all the baby items you could need (high chairs, cribs, etc.) In the morning you could help yourself to whatever was in the cupboards or refridgerator. It was such a warm and homey environment, it really eased some of the stress of the whole situation. My father eventually came home to live another 18 months (which is a very long time for someone with pancreatic cancer). I will never forget that night at the Ronald McDonald House, though.

All of us have access to lots of pop can tabs. Instead of throwing those tabs in the recycle bin, let them help generate money to care for people while a loved one is undergoing treatment for a serious illness. Here is how Ingo's Official Fan Club can help as a family. All we have to is: