Charity Brings Comfort To Children Undergoing Medical Treatment

CLEARWATER, FL — A Clearwater charity is making life a bit more comfortable for children who are away from home undergoing medical treatment at local hospitals.

Charity Works Inc., headquartered in Clearwater, is a nonprofit organization whose mission is "Helping Those Who Help Others." Recently, board member Dick Crippen suggested the charity provide comfort packages to the families at Ronald McDonald House Charities, a charity where he formerly served on the board.

Charity Works partnered with OAI Visual Branding to obtain custom-printed child's face masks for safety to include in the 200 children gift packages containing a plush pillow for comfort.

Charity Works' role as an intermediary is to collaborate with donors and businesses to generate added value for charities like Ronald McDonald House Charities.

"In late May, two ladies, who wish to remain anonymous, asked for our organization's assistance to serve young children in need of handmade comfort pillows," said Chris Renfrow, president of Charity Works. "Through their donation and the support of two local businesses, we are pleased to provide Ronald McDonald House Tampa Bay families with this enhanced donation of 200 comfort gift packages."

Each package contains one plush pillow, one decorated kid's reusable facial mask and one 2-ounce bottle of hand sanitizer gel.

"The gift packages help make kids smile particularly when they face uncertainty about their health and surroundings," Renfrow said.

"We are always happy to have the opportunity to work with the wonderful people at Ronald McDonald House to help put smiles on the faces of the children and families they serve," said OAI account executive Ron Fuller.

OAI is a local visual branding company that added face masks and face shields to its product line earlier this year. The company has also donated adult face masks for families staying at Ronald McDonald House.

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Tampa Bay continues to care for pediatric families, who must be away from homes while children undergo life-saving treatment at local hospitals.

"Receiving gifts like these from our community sends a message of hope to our families, knowing they have support from so many who are silently applauding their courageous efforts every single day," Ronald McDonald House Executive Director Lisa Suprenand said. "This partnership shows how are community works together in times of crisis."

Ronald McDonald House of Tampa Bay runs three local houses, two in St.Petersburg and one in Tampa, with 66 bedrooms. The homes serve more than 2,300 families each year.