ABOUT DOUGLAS MANIGAULT III:
Dr. Douglas F. Manigault III is the Director of Development at Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor. He is a nonprofit fundraising strategist who helps mission-driven organizations connect community generosity with measurable impact. At Ronald McDonald House Ann Arbor, he leads philanthropic engagement for annual giving across all revenue streams, focused on sustaining and expanding housing, meals, and family support for families with hospitalized children. He holds a masters and a doctoral degree in social work, and he is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE).
RESOURCES:
Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) Ann Arbor
RMHC Ann Arbor - How to Volunteer
TRANSCRIPTION:
Decky Alexander: This is 89.1 WEMU, and welcome to our weekly conversation on equity and opportunity in our county and in our community. I'm your host, Decky Alexander, and I'm honored still and always to welcome you to this week's edition of Washtenaw United. Imagine finding out your child has a life-threatening illness or needs specialized pediatric surgery. The medical team is ready, on call, but they're two hours, 200 miles, or two states away. Now, on top of the emotional shock, you're forced to calculate hotel bills, missing paychecks, and where your next meal comes from. Across the country and around the world, thousands of families face this exact second criss. When pediatric care is centralized in major hospital centers, in the U.S., non-medical travel costs can swallow nearly half a family's daily income. And yet, organizations like the Ronald McDonald House exist to ensure that receiving life-saving care doesn't hinge on whether a family can afford a 200-night hotel room. Today, on Washtenaw United, we will be talking to Dr. Douglas F. Manigault III, the Director of Development at Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor, and how this organization, this literal house of 31 rooms-plus, fills the critical gap for families near and from 14 other states to serve more families better. Douglas, welcome to the show!
Dr. Douglas F. Manigault III: Thank you for having me!
Decky Alexander: So, many of us in Washtenaw County and in the country may be familiar with Ronald McDonald. He's kind of a cultural icon. And still others, myself included, have attended one of the Ronald McDonald House's Red Shoes Affairs. Can you share with us a little bit of the beginning of how RMHC came into being, including our house here in Ann Arbor?
Dr. Douglas F. Manigault III: Absolutely! And thanks again for this opportunity to talk about Ronald McDonald House! So, Ronald McDonald house started in 1974, actually in Philadelphia, just in response to this need, when you have a child, as you talked about, a child who is experiencing a medical crisis, what we know is it is important for families to stay together. It's important for family to stay close to their child. And so, in 1974, in response to just complicated health crises that are happening for children, there was a need to figure out how do we ensure that families can stay close during that time. And so, a the Eagles team in Philadelphia worked with a pediatric physician at the health system there. And really, how McDonald's got involved was that their local operations were involved in raising money to open the first Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia. And so, it started there, again, trying to keep families near to one another. And 11 years later, Ann Arbor, in partnership with now the Junior League of Ann Arbor, worked with the University of Michigan Children's Hospital, before they were the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, to bring our own chapter here to respond to that ever impending crisis that family is experiencing when a child has been severely injured or is sick. For the last 40 years, we have been removing barriers, so families can focus on what matters most: their child.
Decky Alexander: Well, you just sort of alluded to that health equity in this country is not just as access to a hospital bed, Douglas, but as the right and ability for a parent to actually be a parent during a health crisis. So, how does the Ronald McDonald House allow a parent-to-parent in these more than often trying moments?
Dr. Douglas F. Manigault III: Yes. So, I think the first thing to keep in mind here is when we're talking about access to a child's healthcare, it's important for us to acknowledge that that should not be limited by a family zip code, income, race, or support network. And so, health equity for us includes whether a family can reach specialized pediatric care and remain near their child once they arrived, and one of the barriers to that if the cost of travel, housing, food missed work, things like that. And so, the quintessential component of Ronald McDonald is providing bill services free of cost. So, we provide housing. We provide food. We provide a space for families to have some sense of normalcy during this crisis. And so, what that might look like is access to respite in the form of having a daycare partner if they have other children who are with them, younger children who are with them, so that they can have that child have a sense of normalcy and be connected to a community. And then, those families, they can get their basic needs here, but they also get a community, other people who are experiencing that similar crisis. And we have some family enrichment activities that we do, particularly in the summer when children are home and when siblings are in the house. We celebrate all types of sort of holidays and activities and cookouts and things like that to just create some sense of normalcy during this time of crisis. And all of it is around removing barriers that we know can deepen existing inequities. So, one of the things that's important for us is we also listen to families and work with their health care providers and community partners, so that our services reflect what families actually need, not just what we assume they need. That's really important for us, and that really is centering on equity in our work.
Decky Alexander: You are listening to Washtenaw United on 89.1 WEMU. I'm Decky Alexander. And today, we're talking with Dr. Douglas F. Manigault III, the Director of Development in Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor, home for hundreds of families near and far when their child needs critical health care. Douglas, so in one of the things you mentioned, you have a new strategic plan, and there are sort of four priorities with one of them enhancing collaboration. How has Ronald McDonald House enhance collaboration in our Washtenaw County community? What does that look like on the ground?
Dr. Douglas F. Manigault III: Absolutely! So, we often speak to the fact that we are health care's best kept secret, particularly when a child is experiencing a medical crisis. And so, we have never thought to be the end-all-be-all for an experience that a family is having, as it relates to their sort of eminent situation that they're dealing with. And so, we rely on our partnerships. I mean, first and foremost, the two shout outs I have to give is our founding and first and forever partner in McDonald's, right? You know, we work closely with McDonald's to not only just sort of enhance kind of this collaborative connection that we have, but also as we think about what did they mean to have a partner that invests in you. And so, one of the common way that people, one of the misconceptions if you will that people have, is that they think, "You all are fully funded by McDonald's," and that's not the case. It really is the community who participate, when they dine at McDonalds, and they decide to round up, right? That's the community's way, but that's McDonald's commitment to our mission and our work. Also, our partner in the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital at the University of Michigan, right, we exist because we are in partnership with them. But it's also our global network of chapters. There are over 390 Ronald McDonald houses across the globe. We work really closely together to ensure that we have a unified focus on providing, serving more families better. And so, that in and of itself is an enhanced collaboration. And lastly, again, families come to us with a whole sort of extended arm of connections. And so, we try to work closely with their systems that they are involved in, their different health care systems. Once they are no longer here or they're planning their time to leave from the house, we're thinking strategically about how we can partner and support them from afar.
Decky Alexander: Well, you have probably journeyed with a lot of families during your time as Director of Development. And so, there's a real human story, we are sure, behind every stat, like a family staying for 450 nights. Can you make the bridge for us, Douglas? Share with us a story of a family that has stayed with you.
Dr. Douglas F. Manigault III: So, I think before I tell the story, I think it's important for it to kind of root us into numbers, right? 2025, 447 families stay provided. And that is incredible. But I think the other side of that, it's important to note that 875 families were unable to have a room at the Ronald McDonald House Ann Arbor because we are always full. And so, when we talk about 43 nights, that doesn't sound like a lot to people. That has increased since 2022 from 24 nights to 43 nights on average that families are staying here. And so, when we think about a family that has stayed for 450 nights, this is, obviously, a complex health issue that requires them to be close to their child for that long. I think about a particular family who says, "I spent 450 nights at Ronald McDonald House Ann Arbor, and it all felt like something that could have been one long nightmare. But we came out on the other side feeling relieved that we were able to stay close to our child while they were receiving top tier care at C.S. Mott's Hospital." And so, this family is telling this story, and it's filled with this emotion that that says this could have been one long nightmare, but that 450 days felt so much more palatable because we were able to be close to our child in this time.
Decky Alexander: That was beautiful! That was Dr. Douglas Manigault III, the Director of Development at Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor, dedicated to removing barriers, so families can focus on what matters most: their child. To learn more about RMHC, swing by our website at WEMU.org. Washtenaw United is produced in partnership with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan, and you can hear it right here every Monday morning. I'm Decky Alexander, and this is your community NPR station 89.1 WEMU, Ypsilanti. Thanks for listening!
WEMU has partnered with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan to explore the people, organizations, and institutions creating opportunity and equity in our area. And, as part of this ongoing series, you’ll also hear from the people benefiting and growing from the investments being made in the areas of our community where there are gaps in available services. It is a community voice. It is 'Washtenaw United.'
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