SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC NEWS)– Nonprofit charity houses like Syracuse’s Ronald McDonald House and Sarah’s Guest House are an important place for families to stay when a loved one is getting medical treatment far from home. The houses provide free lodging, transportation and food. However, the COVID pandemic has changed how the houses function.
The Ronald McDonald House just opened over a month ago after shutting its doors to guests. House Manager Nicole Poplawski said the house just moved on from stage 2 to stage 3 of its reopening plan.
“We currently have just entered phase 3 which allows for up to 15 families however we currently are at 4 families,” said Poplawski.
While the McDonald house was closed, Sarah’s Guest House remained open for guests. Executive Director of the home, David Haas, is proud the house remained open.
“We did not close for one day at all, we’ve had to adjust a lot of things at the house. But we’ve stayed open the whole time, which is awesome,” exclaimed Haas.
Some of the adjustments the house has made are temperature checks, half capacity, and the removal of common areas.
“Because of COVID our guests have to eat in their bedroom, which is obviously different than it typically is. So, some of that bonding isn’t occurring,” said Haas.
The house was forced to cancel one of their most lucrative fundraising events, a gala held in April. In previous years, the house would get a large portion of their annual donations from this event alone.
“Unfortunately, that’s where the majority of our money comes from to operate. It’s like 70% or something crazy,” said operations and office manager Shannon Griffin.
To combat this financial problem Sarah’s Guest House has launched a new fundraiser called “Fund the House.”
The goal is to reach $30,000 in the coming weeks.