Orange County Branch Newsletter

October 2014

ASCE OC YMF

ASCE OC YMF Volunteers at Ronald McDonald House


By:  Krista Kausen, PE Review Chair

On September 6th, 2014, a handful of members from the ASCE OC YMF volunteered for the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) in Orange, CA.  The RMH is a wonderful organization that provides food and housing for families with a seriously ill or injured child.  As volunteers for the event, OC YMF was asked to prepare a meal for these families.

This was my first time volunteering for the event, and I was in charge of creating the menu.  I wanted to give the families a sense of a home-cooked meal, and for me, nothing beats southern food as a good home-cooked meal. With the Southern food theme, everyone in our group of OC YMF volunteers pitched in with ideas and contributed to the menu. At the end of the day, we had prepared fried chicken, cole slaw, red beans and rice, cornbread, bacon green beans, and chocolate crunch brownies for dessert.  The families in the RMH were very excited about all the different dishes we offered, and said that they never had a group cook as much food as we did. They even requested that we come back to cook for one of their holiday meals, which made our OC YMF group feel pretty good …not only can engineers do math, but we can cook too!

This event, by far, was one of the best I have ever volunteered for. Not only because I love cooking and had a ton of fun cooking with fellow YMF members in the kitchen, but also because I love the effect that a good meal can bring to another person.  It’s amazing to me how the simple act of cooking a meal for someone else can brighten their day and give them a sense of warmth and comfort, something which these parents going through rough times so desperately need.  It was great seeing families relax and enjoy our meal, hearing them laugh a bit, and just talking to them about who we are and what we do as ASCE OC YMF members.  I love the way food brings people together, and I believe that when food is made with love, it rubs off on the people enjoying the meal, and I think our OC YMF group was able to accomplish that for these families.

Volunteering for the RMH was a truly rewarding experience for me, and I look forward to volunteering for it again in the future!

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