The video is a heartfelt testimonial about the Ronald McDonald House in Charlotte, presented by Kim Brattain Media. Multiple families, volunteers, and staff share personal experiences, describing the house as a comforting "home away from home" for families coping with a child's serious illness or injury. They recount the story of 13‑year‑old Micah, who suffered a severe motocross accident and is now in rehab, illustrating how the house provided emotional and practical support. Key services highlighted include a toy closet that gives each child a personal “ticket to Toyland,” communal meals, pet therapy, volunteer‑run activities such as cookie‑baking, and informal support groups where families share prayers and encouragement. The narrative emphasizes the rapid formation of camaraderie among families, the behind‑the‑scenes work of volunteers, and the overall sense of community that eases the hardship of staying near the hospital.
Chapters
Come on in to our house, your home in Charlotte.
Everybody here has a story, and that makes you feel even more comfortable and comforted and part of a big story. Everybody shares, everybody, you know, Asks, can I pray for you? And, do you need anything? His name is Micah, and he had an accident 3 weeks ago. He's 13. He's our youngest boy. He's in rehab now. He had a motocross accident. His brother and Micah were racing, and Micah slid out, tried to get up, and his brother It was so close that he couldn't do anything and just landed on his head. It's about 400 pounds. I think we cried about every tear we have. Time to go to bed, Maya. When we came to the hospital and they asked us, where are you staying? And we're like, 5 siblings, you know, everybody there, and we're like, I don't know. I don't know. And then they said, have you heard about the Ronald McDonald House? It's absolutely amazing. It's crazy how nice everybody is and just everything here is— it's just like a home away from home.
It really is.
Good girl. Early on I was asked, do you provide support groups at the Ronald McDonald House? And I said, you know, not technically, but it happens. It happens here. The families come down to gather for meals. They come down to gather for programs, pet therapy. They come down to watch TV. It's just amazing to watch that camaraderie and how quickly it happens that they come together, they know each other, they support each other. It's amazing to see how that happens.
I'm going to the closet, the toy closet. You get toys from it. I'm going to the closet to get a toy.
Do you want to see what's in there first? We have a toy closet, and every family that comes in gets— we call it a ticket to Toyland. And so the children can go to the toy closet and pick out a new toy, a new book, a new stuffed animal for them to have. There are toys and books all over the house to play with, but I think that when you get to To have your own toys, something to have that's yours to keep, it really does make this feel more like home away from home. This is the home away from home. I kind of feel that we're the neighbors that come into the home away from home for them. You need a neighbor.
We do all the little things behind the scenes. It makes their stay that much easier for them while they're going through difficult times. It makes a difference to the lives of those kids and those families. And when you see it on their faces, that's what counts.
Volunteers, families, church groups, uh, book clubs that sign up and come in every day between 10 and 2, and they bake cookies. And it just fills the house with the smell of fresh-baked cookies. which there's nothing that says home more than that.
Gosh, I don't want to ever go through what some of them are going through, but to have a sick child, I just can't imagine. I can't imagine staying at a hotel and trying to deal with all of that. So I like it here because they can relax and settle in and have people to talk to.
Honestly, if we did not have the opportunity to be at the Ronald McDonald I, I could not have made it.
