‘It’s about what we can do to help them’
CMPD communications team serves up Christmas cheer at Ronald McDonald House
By Jordan-Ashley Walker, Charlotte Communications & Marketing
Come Dec. 22, Rick Valone and his team from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) communications won’t be sitting around the dinner table with their families — at least not the families they were born into. Instead, they’ll be breaking bread with a new kind of family — one that develops from a genuine desire to serve others.
The group from CMPD communications — they call themselves CMPD communications and friends — will be at the Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte on Dec. 22 cooking and serving dinner for the house’s residents and their families. Ronald McDonald House provides a home-away-from home for children receiving medical care in the Charlotte area.
Valone, who has worked in CMPD communications for 14 years, says the team’s trips to the Ronald McDonald House began with Rosie Locklear, who also works at CMPD communications. The team enjoyed the visits so much that they decided to make the visits a regular thing.
“After you prepare the food, you can sit and eat with the families,” Valone says. “You have a conversation with them that isn’t about a doctor visit. It’s from the heart.”
The CMPD communications group usually serves up dinner for approximately 50 people about 3–4 times each year. They plan the menu, purchase the food with money from their own pockets, cook it up and then serve it to the families staying at the Ronald McDonald House.
Jennifer Stewart, Jennifer Behre, Regina Bellamy and Dennis Leake are all part of the communications group who regularly visit Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte.
“I know how it is,” said Leake, a 35-year veteran of CMPD communications. Leake’s son was just 7 years old when he passed away in 2005.
“You’re giving the families time just to take a breath,” Leake said. “You’re taking a load off for them. It’s not about us. It’s about what we can do to help them.”
For their holiday meal, CMPD communications has chosen Moravian chicken pot pie, mashed potatoes, candied carrots, salad and cherry trifle for dessert. It’s a much-appreciated change from the fast food burgers and cafeteria food that are often on the menu for families facing long-term illnesses, hospitalizations and extended medical care.
For Valone and the rest of the CMPD communications team, the hours spent volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House aren’t unlike the work they do on a regular basis: being there for people when they need it the most.
“That’s what we’re here to do,” Valone said. “We’re here to help people.”
For more information about the Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte and for details about how to support the organization, contact Valone at 704–336–7873 or click here.
