OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — An Overland Park family is making the holidays a little brighter for those who can't spend them in their own home.
Lorna Walker and her family are asking people to make a donation of $10 to adopt a family staying at a Kansas City Ronald McDonald House.
Walker said the organization became a home away from home when her family temporarily moved to Cincinnati while her son, Preston, received a tracheostomy to help him breathe.
"We never really fully appreciated what the Ronald McDonald House did until we lived there," Walker said.
The family spent three months living at the house while they were in and out of the neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU.
Walker said she'll never forget the small act of kindness they received around the holidays.
After a hard day at the hospital, they came home to a small gift in their mailbox. Inside was hand cream and body products. It's a feeling of gratitude the family will never forget.
"I just looked at my husband and I was like, 'Oh my gosh, somebody thought of us,'" Walker said.
Now, the family is working to pay-it-forward with their adopt-a-family drive. Money raised will buy families staying at Kansas City locations the same gift they received as well as toys for the play rooms.
CEO Tami Greenberg said acts of kindness like this one are just what those families need.
"Service leads to gratitude, and gratitude leads to joy," Greenberg said. "It's never good news to need to be at a Ronald McDonald House, and it's especially difficult to be away from home with a sick child over the holidays."
Walker and her family recently learned they'll never need to go back to the Cincinnati house. She said Preston is doing great, but that doesn't mean they'll forget about the families who haven't received the same news.
"To get the news that we've been released for good just makes it even more important to continue to give, because there's so many families that are going to be in our shoes for years and years to come," Walker said.
It's a small gesture, but she knows it goes a long way.
"I think if people can just know that they're being thought of, then our mission has been completed," Walker said.
The family will pass out the gifts the week before Christmas.
If you would like to donate, you can reach Walker by sending email to Lwalkermk@gmail.com or calling 913-206-2498.
