One Small Grant, One Big Difference

Member Ashleigh White, Colorado Springs, is the president of a future physician’s assistant club at her university that emphasizes the importance of volunteering in the community.

“Our local Ronald McDonald House lets organizations cook for people who stay there while their kids are in the hospital,” she says. “I got in contact with the coordinator, who was very helpful with the logistics. But then I needed funding for it.”

The benefits of membership

Ashleigh remembered her financial representative, Kallene Faris, had shared information about Modern Woodmen’s member programs. The Do-Good Grant® – $200 to kick-start a volunteer project – was on the list.

“We had to feed about 40 people,” Ashleigh says. “I didn’t know how I was going to fund that as a college student, but I still wanted to do good things and help the community.”

With Kallene’s help, Ashleigh applied for a grant. Then she put the $200 to use, buying ingredients for baked ziti and pans needed to make it.

Ashleigh and other members of the future physician’s assistant club met one Saturday to prepare the meal in a campus kitchen. The baked ziti was freezer-friendly, giving the Ronald McDonald House flexibility with when to serve it.

“My goal in life is to be a health care professional,” she says. “As a college student, you don’t have many volunteer opportunities in health care. These families are just trying to worry about their kids and their treatment. To be healthy, you must have nutritious meals to eat.”

Ashleigh was the 1,000th Modern Woodmen member to receive a Do-Good Grant®. Her advice to future recipients? Have patience while you plan your project because the effort is worth it.

“By doing one small thing with this grant,” she says, “you can make a big change in this world.”