Ronald McDonald House Charities, Upper Midwest owns and operates the Ronald McDonald House of the Twin Cities, our cornerstone program. On any given night we accommodate 48 families who have critically ill children being treated in area hospitals. What is lesser known, is that our organization also operates a Grant Program, which allows us to serve families that are not eligible to live at the Ronald McDonald House. Our Grant Program also allows us to serve families in other ways that help them to stay together and strong through the adversity of serious pediatric illness. Our Grant Program does not accept solicitations, but operates instead from our knowledge of the local community and the unmet needs that exist in terms of serious pediatric illness. Much of the funding that we need to make grants is provided through the generous contributions made in the canisters at the local McDonald’s restaurants. We thank not only the McDonald’s restaurants for allowing us to raise money in their restaurants, but we also thank the general public who frequent the restaurants and make contributions of loose change during each visit! Faith’s Lodge We are proud to announce our grant for 2006 to Faiths’ Lodge, operated by the Lacek Foundation. Faith’s Lodge is a retreat exclusively for families who have children with medical crises or who have had a child pass away. Faith’s Lodge is committed to providing a sense of community for families who share these experiences, want to meet other families in similar situations and who want to be able to heal and build new memories in a north woods and therapeutic setting. Faith’s Lodge is scheduled to open in the June 2007 and Ronald McDonald House Charities, Upper Midwest will fund all family programming at the Lodge. Our grant to Faith’s Lodge is an initial three-year commitment and we are excited to see this wonderful new program being offered to the community. To learn more about Faith’s Lodge and our involvement, visit www.faithslodge.org Ronald McDonald® Care Mobile In an effort to provide access to dental care for underserved children, Ronald McDonald House Charities is in the process of partnering with dedicated community leaders to create a Twin Cities Ronald McDonald Care Mobile program. Through relationships with counties, school boards and other non-profits and dental providers, the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile program will bring cost-effective, high-quality dental care directly to underserved children. The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile is a 40-foot, 26,000 pound, state-of-the-art vehicle built specifically to deliver pediatric dental services. The Care Mobile will feature two dental operatories, a dental hygiene room, and a welcoming reception area. Dental services will include regular cleanings, fluoride treatments, sealants, x-rays, fillings and extractions, as well as information on proper dental care and the importance of seeing a dentist every six months. We hope to receive approval and delivery by the end of the third quarter in 2008 and we will then be able to offer dental services to children in the seven-county metro area who would otherwise go without dental care.