In the spirit of the season, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chattanooga (RMHC) offers a couple of holiday-specific opportunities for community support of seriously ill and injured children in the area. In addition to their traditional fundraising sale of “Hearts of Gold” ornaments, RMHC is collecting donations to stock a Santa’s Workshop for families staying at the Ronald McDonald House during the holiday season.

Since the “Hearts of Gold” ornament sale first began when the Ronald McDonald House opened in 1990, the fundraiser has provided a way for supporters and volunteers to honor the memory of lost loved ones while contributing to the care and comfort of seriously ill children in the future. Each year, the “Hearts of Gold” fundraiser highlights the story of a child and family served by an RMHC program. The support and generosity of the community helps raise enough funds to support 26 Ronald McDonald House families for about a month. The purchase of a 2012 “Hearts of Gold” ornament is a gift for struggling children and their families; it represents the gifts of chance, togetherness and hope extended to the more than 10,000 children and families served during their time of need by Ronald McDonald House Charities. The 2012 “Hearts of Gold” ornaments are on sale now for a minimum $15 donation at rmhchattanooga.com.

In additional efforts to keep families of hospitalized children together during the holiday season and provide the comfort and normalcy of home, RMHC will open a Santa’s Workshop inside of the Ronald McDonald House from Dec. 10-24 for families to choose gifts for their children without having to spend too much time away. Groups and individuals around the Chattanooga area are collecting items from Santa’s wish list (available at rmhchattanooga.com) to stock the workshop by Dec. 10. Employees from Draexil Maier, Team 3 Logistics and Epic Optique are already involved in workplace collections.

Groups collecting items for Santa’s Workshop are asked to contact Tiffany Cobb to schedule a drop-off time/date at tiffany.cobb@rmhchattanooga.com or 423-778-4338.

Established in 1990, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Chattanooga provides a “home away from home” each year for approximately 600 families of critically injured and seriously ill children and supports programs that improve the health and well-being of children. RMHC of Greater Chattanooga is an independent, 501(c) 3 registered non-profit that operates solely on donations from individuals, businesses and foundations. The cornerstone programs are the 26-bedroom Ronald McDonald House, Ronald McDonald Family Room inside Children’s Hospital at Erlanger and the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile, a school-based medical clinic in collaboration with Bradley county schools. Ronald McDonald House Charities also offers 40 $1,000 scholarships to area high school seniors. For more information, contact 423-778-4300, visit rmhchattanooga.com or connect with RMHC through Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.