Reno/Sparks In-Person Ronald McDonald House Dinner Service 9/20/2026

Working together to give back to our local community is so important to us.  And, people who volunteer have reported that they are happier and feel more fulfilled.  So, we are providing a volunteer opportunity to help you fill your cup!

Our Ronald McDonald House in Reno provides lodging for families living more than 30 miles away with a child receiving treatment at an area hospital and eases the emotional and financial strain families experience when their children face health complications.  The facility depends on donations and volunteers to provide its services, including providing meals to families staying in the facility.  The residential facility has a full commercial kitchen, so volunteers have the option to bring in prepared meals or prepare them onsite.

In order to respect the privacy of the families, volunteers are asked to prepare meals for service but not actually serve when the families arrive in the kitchen.  So, please do not prepare or package food in containers that you do not plan to leave at the facility.

Just a few details:

• Who can attend - This is open to everyone, regardless of age.  So, high school or college students in need of volunteer hours are encouraged to attend.  We are limited to 10 bodies in the kitchen, so each person MUST be registered.  Please do not plan on bringing young children that are not registered, and please do not register them if they will not be actively contributing to meal prep.  Guests are welcome as long as they are registered.
• Sign up cutoff and cancelation - Meal prep and the type of meal provided will be dependent on volunteer sign ups and volume of families housed on the day of service, so sign up cutoff is September 17th for planning purposes.  Conversely, if you sign up and find you cannot make it, we ask that you cancel your registration by the 16th.
• Meal prep planning and assignments - Once we have our volunteer roster set (on the 17th), you will be contacted by our Community Events Coordinator, Shenea Strader, to discuss your part in meal prep...what you will bring, if you will need to cook/assemble in the onsite kitchen, and how many people we will be serving.  We are able to access the facility at 4pm, and all food must be ready for dinner service at 6pm, so all prep must be able to be completed in that 2-hour window.

We look forward to providing this very important service and welcome your help in making this a success.  Depending upon response, we would like to provide this service on some kind of periodic basis.