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I’ve been asked this several times, so I decided to write about it in a thread all its own. How did I come to volunteer with Muley the Mule (my character) at the Ronald McDonald House.
Back several years ago, I joined in with the Mid-South Cartoonists Association, and am now the Vice-President of said organization. When I first joined, they were doing a cartoon art show and the benefactor of the show was The Ronald McDonald House of Memphis.
Nowadays, my best pal is Lin, and he was President of the club way back then, and he was already volunteering for the RMH, which he discovered through Rock 103’s radio station. Rock 103 DJs Tim Spencer and Bev Hart were both (at some time) on the RMH Board of Directors and Bev is still on the Board today.
As Lin and I became fast friends, I introduced him to Muley the Mule, and then to the comics and puppet versions of the characters, and he invited me to go along with him to volunteer with the RMH at an event. Since that time, I’ve become well acquainted, as has Muley, with the Rock 103 station staff, and with everyone at the RMH to the point that Muley has been named the Official SpokesMule of the Ronald McDonald House of Memphis.
Muley has appeared at the RMH with my best friend, Angela Freeman’s Cardz 4 Kidz, at RMH Birthday Parties, Volunteer Banquets, All the Rock 103/RMH RadioThon events, and Isaac Hayes’ restaurant 2 years in a row to discuss and speak about the RMH over the years, and has appeared at the Big Scoop Ice Cream Festival (an RMH event) in both puppet and costume form, as well as having appeared one 2 local television stations on behalf of the RMH: Fox 13 News where he sang 2 songs and discussed RMH and the Ice Cream Festival, and ABC 24 News where he introduced the Cooper-Young Festival while manning the RMH booth. He’s also appeared on Rock 103’s WakeUP Crew show several times, calling in once in a while to bother them.
He has been Maitre’D at Bosco’s Celebrity Waiter Night, an Unofficial host of the actual RadioThon, and Unofficial Host of the Leather Ball each year.
He has also appeared as Count DracMula at the Nightmarez! Haunted Attractions the past 3 or 4 years, too.
What does this all mean? You don’t get there by not trying. I don’t get paid for any of it, but it’s all volunteer work because I can’t afford the money to donate, so I give my time.
I suggest you check through your local organization that you’re a member of, see how you can create a connection between your organization and either the Ronald McDonald House local to you—or whatever charity it may be—and use that as a route to become a volunteer and help raise money.
If you’re not a member of an organization but, say, a church, set up with your church to go to that charitable organization and maybe cook dinner for the people there sometime, and do your puppet show during that time.
Charitable organizations are always looking for volunteers to help out, so I’m sure if you just simply call and say, “Hey, I got these puppets and I want to do a puppet show,” then you can get in there no doubt.
So, I hope this helps in some way in answering how I started with volunteering at the RMH and the final part of this helpful in how to get started. If not, post questions below and let’s help each other!
Kev
Back several years ago, I joined in with the Mid-South Cartoonists Association, and am now the Vice-President of said organization. When I first joined, they were doing a cartoon art show and the benefactor of the show was The Ronald McDonald House of Memphis.
Nowadays, my best pal is Lin, and he was President of the club way back then, and he was already volunteering for the RMH, which he discovered through Rock 103’s radio station. Rock 103 DJs Tim Spencer and Bev Hart were both (at some time) on the RMH Board of Directors and Bev is still on the Board today.
As Lin and I became fast friends, I introduced him to Muley the Mule, and then to the comics and puppet versions of the characters, and he invited me to go along with him to volunteer with the RMH at an event. Since that time, I’ve become well acquainted, as has Muley, with the Rock 103 station staff, and with everyone at the RMH to the point that Muley has been named the Official SpokesMule of the Ronald McDonald House of Memphis.
Muley has appeared at the RMH with my best friend, Angela Freeman’s Cardz 4 Kidz, at RMH Birthday Parties, Volunteer Banquets, All the Rock 103/RMH RadioThon events, and Isaac Hayes’ restaurant 2 years in a row to discuss and speak about the RMH over the years, and has appeared at the Big Scoop Ice Cream Festival (an RMH event) in both puppet and costume form, as well as having appeared one 2 local television stations on behalf of the RMH: Fox 13 News where he sang 2 songs and discussed RMH and the Ice Cream Festival, and ABC 24 News where he introduced the Cooper-Young Festival while manning the RMH booth. He’s also appeared on Rock 103’s WakeUP Crew show several times, calling in once in a while to bother them.
He has been Maitre’D at Bosco’s Celebrity Waiter Night, an Unofficial host of the actual RadioThon, and Unofficial Host of the Leather Ball each year.
He has also appeared as Count DracMula at the Nightmarez! Haunted Attractions the past 3 or 4 years, too.
What does this all mean? You don’t get there by not trying. I don’t get paid for any of it, but it’s all volunteer work because I can’t afford the money to donate, so I give my time.
I suggest you check through your local organization that you’re a member of, see how you can create a connection between your organization and either the Ronald McDonald House local to you—or whatever charity it may be—and use that as a route to become a volunteer and help raise money.
If you’re not a member of an organization but, say, a church, set up with your church to go to that charitable organization and maybe cook dinner for the people there sometime, and do your puppet show during that time.
Charitable organizations are always looking for volunteers to help out, so I’m sure if you just simply call and say, “Hey, I got these puppets and I want to do a puppet show,” then you can get in there no doubt.
So, I hope this helps in some way in answering how I started with volunteering at the RMH and the final part of this helpful in how to get started. If not, post questions below and let’s help each other!
Kev
