Mops at the ready!

23 May 2014

Directorate of Estates and Facilities help Ronald McDonald House

As part of Give and Gain Day, 14 senior managers from the Directorate of Estates and Facilities turned out in force for a spring clean of Ronald McDonald House Manchester, the free accommodation for families who have children in hospital.

Ronald McDonald House Manchester is one of 14 Houses in the UK run by Ronald McDonald House Charities, an independent charity which provides free ‘home away from home’ accommodation at hospitals across the UK. It enables seriously ill children to have their families close by when they are undergoing treatment and allows them to maintain a degree of normal family life.

After a tour of the house (the staff refer to the facility as a house rather than a hotel as they provide a home from home with lots of support to the families staying there), we were put to work. One group tackled the fantastic secluded walled garden with jobs including weeding, mowing and cleaning the windows. The second group cleaned the entrance area and then moved inside to sanitise all the toys in the playroom.

After lunch, we hosted afternoon tea for the children and families staying at the house serving lots of homemade cakes (Estates staff only need the smallest reason to bake). We also ran craft activities which included making posters for the runners in Sunday’s Great Manchester Run. The afternoon also gave us chance to chat to the parents of the children attending the hospital and it was inspiring to listen to the stories about their children.

The day was unanimously enjoyed by all with people feeling they had “gained” far more than they “gave”.

We received for the Charity with thanks a number of financial and supplies donations by some of our suppliers and contractors including Bidvest 3663, E R Williams (Painting Contractors) Ltd, G Jones contractors and Garside and Laycock.