When Dena Hipskind decided to organize “Comfort Food” four months ago, the Fishers resident had no idea how many people would want to volunteer their time to help prepare meals for families of children who were being treated at Riley Hospital.
Monthly food prep events like March’s “Ciao to the Chill” bring volunteers to the My Girlfriends Kitchen store on 116th Street to help package meals. With the help of monetary donations from local businesses, Dena and her growing group of volunteers have provided more than 900 meals to families staying at the Indiana Ronald McDonald House.
[kml_flashembed movie="http://youtube.com/v/Hrn3gfXa4uk" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]The Hipskind family knows first-hand how hard it is to have a seriously ill child. After their 2-year-old son Auggie was diagnosed with cancer a year ago, Dena and husband Jason found themselves spending a lot of time in and out of Riley Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House. With their lives turned upside down, they found juggling every day chores became monumental tasks. The repose of a home-cooked meal brought to them by friends or family members at the end of a long and scary day was exactly the kind of help the Hipskinds treasured.
Now that Auggie’s cancer is in remission, Dena wants to help other Riley families create a moment of normalcy in their day. The response from the Fishers/Geist community has been amazing, she said. Volunteers for upcoming events are currently on a waiting list, and there is enough funding to provide meals for the next several months (with new donations coming in all the time).
Dena is considering adding more food-prep events. If you would like to help feed families staying at the Indiana Ronald McDonald House either by volunteering at an upcoming prep event or with a monetary donation, please contact Dena Hipskind at 903-9635 or email her at dena@hipskind.net.
