Training Makes Possible a Valuable Community-Building Tool

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Western Washington & Alaska (RMHC) supports seriously ill children and their families, providing a "home-away-from-home" to help families through difficult times. As one of the largest Ronald McDonald Houses in the world, the organization relies heavily on a large cadre of volunteers to create a welcoming space for families. To facilitate the creation of a supportive environment, RMHC seeks to host group dinners five nights a week, and asks volunteer groups to prepare meals for as many as 75 people at a time.

For some time, volunteer coordinators at the House had wanted to develop a recipe book that would house RMHC’s collection of volunteer-contributed recipes, and provide guidance for new volunteer teams on preparing meals for groups of that size. Communications Manager Julianna Ross saw an opportunity to improve the volunteer experience by developing a professional-quality recipe book, but recognized the need for additional training to create the book successfully. Julianna turned to NPower for InDesign training and the result far exceeded her expectations.

“All of NPower’s trainings are worthwhile. The instructors do a great job of addressing each participant’s specific challenges.”

-Julianna Ross, Communications Manager

The Challenge

• RMHC needed a professional, easy to modify recipe book to help guide volunteers in the preparation of meals for as many as 75 people – meals that are a critical component of RMHC’s community-building efforts.
• As the Communications Manager of RMHC, Julianna was responsible for the development of the recipe book but she lacked the technology skills to fully utilize the document design software and had hit a wall.

The Solution

• Having been pleased with her experiences at previous NPower training classes, Julianna signed up to attend an educational coaching session for InDesign.
• Bringing the beginnings of the recipe book with her, Julianna was able to work one-on-one with an NPower trainer in our on-site lab, addressing issues specific to her project and enabling her to move past the roadblocks she’d been facing.
• Julianna took her newly developed skills back to RMHC, completing the recipe book and applying new techniques to the development of other communications materials.

The Impact

• Hands-on training at NPower meant that Julianna was able to complete the recipe book in a much shorter amount of time, allowing her to shift her focus back to telling the compelling stories of the families impacted by RMHC.
• The final recipe book is professional, visually appealing, and modifiable, resulting in a valuable tool that can be easily updated and amended.
• The recipe book has been a popular tool among volunteers and continues to facilitate the successful delivery of meals that serve as a comforting extension of support for families facing difficult challenges.