The App State chapter of Alpha Delta Pi hosted their “Roses for RMHC” event to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House charity Wednesday in Plemmons Student Union.
The Ronald McDonald House is a charity organization whose mission is to provide lodging and hospitality to families with children who are ill or injured and in need of medical treatment.
The event saw members of the sorority in the student union selling an array of colored roses and cookies to students and faculty to raise the money. “It’s a really amazing charity,” said Andrea Terrell, a junior exercise science major and director of philanthropy for Alpha Delta Pi. “We know that our national philanthropy isn’t right here in Boone but we know that we are actually doing something to help families in need.”
At the event, sorority members stood in front of a white banner displaying pink and red roses and hearts promoting the fundraiser. Those present asked patrons in the student union if they would like to buy a rose to support their philanthropy.
Alpha Delta Pi has hosted the event for the past two years, having sold out of all their roses last year. Terrell said she hopes to achieve that goal again this year.
The Ronald McDonald Foundation opened its first house in Philadelphia in 1974. Since then the program has expanded to include over 350 Ronald McDonald Houses across the globe and hosted over 2 million overnight stays in 2023, according to the organization’s annual report.
Alpha Delta Pi has supported the Ronald McDonald House nationally since 1979. Since the sorority’s partnership with the charity it has raised more than $22,400,000 for the Ronald McDonald House charities and encouraged local chapters to join the effort in supporting the philanthropy, according to the sorority’s website.
“Knowing that we are able to help families in need just brings us closer together,” Terrell said. “It just truly helps us to see there’s more than just us as a sorority.”
The chapter’s primary Ronald McDonald House that they support is in Johnson City, Tennessee, and for some members of the sorority, volunteering in person at the Ronald McDonald House and supporting the foundation is a way to give back and bond with each other.
“It gives you such an outlet to be able to actually help the community,” said Ellie Bodenheimer, a sophomore sorority member and communications major who volunteered in the charity’s Johnson City location last year and brought letters to the children seeking treatment. Bodenheimer said the experience was one she will remember for the rest of her life.
Yancey Dahlberg, a sophmore marketing major and sorority member, said she has been looking forward to the fundraising event. She said being able to volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House is a “really amazing opportunity.”
Terrell said she looks forward to the sorority’s future fundraising efforts, including a potential 5K and a gala to provide further opportunities for the sorority to fundraise for their cause.