Campus Celebrity: Anjie Brenda
On each major holiday and every Sunday for the past 11 years, Anjie Brenda, executive assistants to the vice president of student affairs, has woken up at the crack of dawn to volunteer at the Ronald McDonald Family Room at Memorial Hospital.
“Kind of like brushing your teeth every day,” said Brenda. “It’s just part of me.”
The Ronald McDonald Family Room, a component of Ronald McDonald House Charities, is a place where family members of hospitalized children can rest during their patient’s stay.
Embracing the slogan “home-away-from-home”, the house makes itself available as a home away from home by staying open seven days a week. It is entirely run by volunteers who provide patients’ families with home-cooked meals, private bedrooms, and playrooms for children.
Brenda has served as a volunteer for various positions within the organization including data entry, mailings, and McDazzle, a signature red-tie event hosted by the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Michiana.
She now works in home preparation which consists of cleaning the rooms, doing laundry, stocking supplies, and prepping meals. The volunteers are a crucial part of the day-to-day tasks, as are the donations: “Everything that is in the family room, everything they eat, and everything they take a shower with, the laundry soap… Everything is donated,” Brenda said. “We depend on those donations.”
In addition to volunteering and working a full-time job, Brenda loves to spend time with her three children and seven grandchildren. Growing up, her children were also involved with service and used it as a way to spend quality time with their mother, as well as give back to the community.
Now during the holidays, the family plans celebrations around Brenda’s schedule in order to find time together. “I hope that one day this is something that my children will continue to do with their children,” said Brenda.
Saint Mary’s College students have been involved with the teen board of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Michiana since it began 10 years ago. There are now 50 students involved representing 17 different schools in the Michiana area, who work to create awareness in the community and fundraise to help the mission of the charity.
They are able to learn the ins and outs of a non-profit organization, while creating awareness in the community and fundraising to support the mission of the charity.
Brenda has worked directly with these students in the past and encourages all service-oriented members of the Saint Mary’s community to get involved. “Volunteering is just a simple act of kindness, and I think that if we all had just a little bit of time to volunteer, those simple acts of kindness could make a huge difference.”
The student board of RMFR allows students all across the community to come together and give back in a large way.
Serving the community has always been a part of Brenda’s life: “I just started volunteering at a young age by myself,” Brenda said. “It was just… it’s part of me.”
Brenda will continue to donate her time and efforts to service through the Ronald McDonald House and is looking forward to someday volunteering at her own grandchildren’s schools.
Photo provided by the author