Cook & Serve Dinner to families at Denver Ronald McDonald House

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After a long day at the hospital, our families look forward to coming home to a warm meal that is ready to eat! We are looking for groups of up to 10 people to prepare a menu, purchase the ingredients, cook and serve the meal to our families in our kitchen.

Preparing for the opportunity:

Grab your friends, family, or coworkers and sign up!

• Volunteer Requirements
• We are allowing groups of up to 10 volunteers.
• All volunteers must be 14 years of age or older. Volunteers between the age of 14-17 must have a parent/guardian with them.
• Parents/guardians must register and sign up for the date in VolunteerHub. Volunteers 17 and under do not need to sign up online and will be given waivers to fill out and bring to the volunteer opportunity.
• Volunteers must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. We will ask that you sign a waiver stating you have received your vaccination. All volunteers must wear a face mask at all times while volunteering (regardless of vaccination status).
• RMHC-Denver does not accept volunteers looking to fulfill court ordered community service requirements and will not validate court sanctioned service hours.
• To reserve a date on our calendar, we first need 1 volunteer to act as the Group Leader and register with our VolunteerHub site and reserve a date. Once the date is reserved, we will reach out with registration instructions for the other volunteers. Please see the last page for detailed instructions on how to sign up.

Plan your meal:

• Plan to prepare enough food for at least 50 people. For reference, our Aurora house can serve up to 45 families per night and our Denver House can serve up to 73 families. However, not all families will attend dinner!
• There is a monetary commitment for this opportunity: The group is responsible for preparing a menu and purchasing all of the food ingredients.
• Confirm your menu with the Volunteer Manager as soon as you can. At least 1 week before, as we advertise the upcoming week’s menu throughout the facility.
• RMHC will provide cookware (suitable for cooking for large groups), kitchen supplies and basics (gloves, cleaning supplies, paper towel, etc.) needed. Our kitchen is very large with ample space for food preparation. It has multiple stovetops, ovens, dishwashers, and many appliances for your use.
• All food must be prepared in our facility, a commercial kitchen or packaged from a store. No meal preparation can be done in advance!
• If you have leftover food, we invite you to sit down and enjoy the meal you made! You are also welcome to make 10-15 to go meals for families who may have missed dinner. To-go containers will be provided by RMHC. Any leftover food after the 10-15 to go meals have been made, must be brought home with you, due to limited refrigerator space at RMHC.

Meal Suggestions: We recommend foods that are easy to prepare in bulk and able to be cooked in 3-4 hours (example: 1 main dish, 1 side, and 1 dessert). We encourage you to get creative with your menu and ask that you consider serving something other than spaghetti with meatballs. Since that is the most popular dish groups make, if there is already a group signed up to make spaghetti with meatballs the week you are coming, we will ask that you change your menu.

• Main Dish Ideas: Lasagna & Pasta Dishes, Mac and Cheese & Casseroles, Wraps, Soups and Salads, Chili, Meat/Veggie/Starch, Ethnic Dishes (Enchiladas, Stir Fry, etc.)
• Side Ideas: Fruit, Bread, Chips, Veggies, Salad
• Dessert Ideas: Brownies, Cookies, Bars/Bites
• Drink Ideas (individual servings/bottles and unopened): Water Bottles, Juice Boxes

On the Day of the Volunteer Opportunity:

Arriving to RMHC:

• Park anywhere in our parking lot and head towards our main entrance (near the Ronald McDonald Statue). Go through the first set of doors and ring the doorbell on the right to be let in the second set of doors.
• Make sure everyone in your group is healthy, all volunteers must be completely illness/symptom free (cold, flu, fever, stomach virus, etc.)
• All volunteers must wear a face mask at all times while volunteering (regardless of vaccination status).
• When you arrive at the House, check in at the front desk. Everyone in your group must sign in on our iPad. Carts/wagons are available for transporting food and supplies.
• You can arrive whenever you want (but no earlier than 2 p.m.) Plan to give your group ample time to prepare dinner so it is ready to be served at 6 p.m. From 6-7 p.m. families will enter the kitchen/dining space to enjoy your meal! Dinner is over at 7 p.m.

During Volunteering:

• The Volunteer Manager or a Guest Services Associate (GSA) will assist you and orient you with the kitchen space.
• All health and hygiene protocols must be followed, including wearing gloves, face masks, and social distancing.
• If you have any questions while cooking, please ask the volunteer/GSA at the front desk for help. They will be more than happy to assist you.
• Once you have finished preparing the food, feel free to begin serving families! Even if it is before 6 p.m. However, plan to stay until dinner is over at 7 p.m.
• Follow our cleaning instructions and clean the kitchen space and all kitchen tools and equipment used. Please also fill out a Meal Wrap Up Form in the Family Meal Program Binder.

How to Register with VolunteerHub and Sign Up for a Date :

Group Leader:

1. From our Group Volunteer Opportunities page ( https://rmhc-denver.org/group-volunteer-opportunities/), choose which house you would like to volunteer at and click the corresponding link.
2. If you do not already have an account with our VolunteerHub Site, click "Create Account" on the top right of the screen. If you already have an account, click "Sign in" on the top right of the screen to sign in, and skip to step 6.
3. Under the "Account" tab, create a username and password. Then click "Next."
4. Under the "Join Code" tab, skip by clicking "Next" (do not type anything in).
5. Under the "Affiliations" tab, check the box for the opportunity you are interested in ("I am interested in preparing and serving a meal").
6. Under the "Profile tab" please fill out all required information (with an asterisk). This is where the COVID waiver is located. You will need to enter the date you became fully vaccinated. We do not need to see your vaccine card, no need to bring it! Click "Next" once you are done.
7. When you get to the "Complete" tab, click "Next" and you will be brought to our events calendar.
8. Click on the date you are interested in signing up for. There will be one opening, for the Group Leader.
9. Click "Next" again to get to our Confidentiality and Release of Liability waiver. All you will need to do is check a box saying you agree. Click "Next" and you will be completely done and signed up.
10. You will receive an email confirming you are signed up. If you did not receive an email, you will need to go back in and ensure you clicked all the way through the sign up.
11. Once you sign up, Kiley will be in touch with registration instructions for your additional volunteers, to gather more details about your menu, provide additional information about the volunteer opportunity and answer any questions you may have.

Please contact Kiley Erlandson at kerlandson@rmhc-denver.org or 720-382-7221 for more information.