Eagle Scout candidate Max McConville, 16, of Oyster Bay, NY, joined Ronald McDonald House Charities NY Metro (RMHC NYM) CEO Matt Campo and families staying at the Ronald McDonald House to unveil a colorful sandbox he constructed and donated to RMHC as a gesture of thanks for the kindness extended to his family when he was born, here today.
The unveiling took place in the playground area of the Ronald McDonald House where the red, yellow and blue sandbox will stay.
“I like that the sandbox will be used by the children,” said Max. “I definitely wanted to do something that would benefit not just the house by the families staying at the house.”
Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) New York Metro keeps families seeking medical treatment for their sick children near the care they need and the families they love.
Max was born in 2006 with medical complications that required an extended stay in the Cohen Children’s NICU and his parents stayed, for free, in the nearby RMHC NYM house next door. His mother, Amy, was able to have a comfortable and nearby place to rest and relax in between taking care of her newborn, rather than travel back and forth to her and her husband John’s home in Oyster Bay.
The kindness extended by RMHC stuck with the McConville family and became part of their family’s history, so much so, that when Max needed a project to contribute to his pursuit of becoming an Eagle Scout with Troop 299 in Oyster Bay, he chose to build the sandbox and donate it to the house.
“When his Eagle Scout project came about, he said Mom, Dad, I know exactly what I want to do, I want to give back to the Ronald McDonald House,” said Amy McConville, choking back tears. “It’s been 16 years and it’s been difficult. But look at him, he’s an amazing smart, strong, courageous boy and look what he’s done. We’re so proud of him.”
“The spirit of the Eagle Scout project is to provide leadership, and the Ronald McDonald House provides the same to the community, so I wanted to channel my leadership into theirs. It taught me a lot about leadership but it also taught me about giving back,” said Max. “It’s about the positive emotion of helping others and I think we all need to pursue that in life.”
“It’s so meaningful to see this family coming back to an organization that once gave to them to now give back to the families that are staying with us,” said Matt Campo, CEO of RMHC NYM.