Courtesy photo Jeremy Jakubowski (left), owner-operator of the Galleria McDonalds, and his wife, Ginger Jakubowski (center), vice president of the RHMC Mid-Penn Chapter Board, present a grant to Melody Ray, coordinator of the Healing Patch Children’s Grief Program.

The Ronald McDonald House Charities Mid-Penn Chapter recently awarded a $2,000 grant to the Healing Patch Children’s Grief Program.

This organization provides unique supportive services free of cost. The services have adapted and expanded to accommodate the unmet needs of grieving children, increasing the accessibility of supportive services in rural communities.

The funding will be used to purchase comfort bag items that are provided to each child enrolled in school peer support groups, children impacted by the loss of a household member, the Family Hospice program and children who attend Healing Patch Centers in Altoona and Ebensburg.

Comfort bags include the following: warm blanket, water bottle, teddy bear, journal or notebook, tissues, pens or crayons, photo frame, and The Healing Book journal for younger children.

A portion of every Happy Meal goes into RHMC Mid-Penn funds for distribution into communities to help local children, as well as to support the Ronald McDonald Houses.