Ronald McDonald House

April 15, 2025

On a cold, rainy April 15th, Team #1 cooked and served a heartwarming meal of homemade soup, a variety of grilled cheese sandwiches, broccoli, green beans, pickles and assorted snacks.  Under the direction of Chef Cara, our hardworking crew was President Mike Blencowe, John Armistead, Stephen Giustizia, Michael Hoy and Bill Adams.  We packaged the leftovers for late arrivals and for next day meals and snacks.  Great news from Chef Kim. RMH has a new barbecue ready for use by dinner groups.  Now we need better weather.

March 18, 2025

Team 3 volunteers Stephen Giustizia, Dan Skrypnyk, Jude Teskey, Frank DeCicco, Barry Uttley and Tom Delaney helped Chef Kim cook up dinner for 125 inhouse diners plus another 60 take out meals.  The menu consisted of basil chicken, mashed potatoes and carrots and green beans.  Thanks to all the volunteers for their contributions.

February, 20, 2025

Thank you Team 2, for another successful dinner served at Ronald McDonald House.  Optimist Jim Easton, leader, put the team together and they prepared and served Chicken Pad Thai with an assortment of bread options, salad and crushed peanuts and peanut sauce.  The meal was enjoyed by approximately 40 residents and left-overs were packaged for later enjoyment.  Thank you to Optimists Aron Lubczanski, Kevin Levesque, Randy Brewe, Gary Shawyer, Murray Bain and Tom Delaney.  The team was led by on-site RMH staff, Chef Dianna and supported by Craig.  Nice work everyone!

January 21, 2025

On a wintery cold evening, Team #1 cooked and served a hearty meal of port tenderloin, roasted potatoes, vegetables and salad.  Desserts were provided by the Sweet Sisters baking group.  There was a good turnout for dinner but we had plenty of leftovers to package up for late comers and next day meals.  Our crew, under the guidance of Chef Kim, included Stephen Guistizia, John Armistead, Stephen Strutt and Bill Adams.  

May 21, 2024

Team 2 had meal duties at RMH on this date. On the knives and spatulas were Optimists Randy Brewe, Norm Smith, Michael Hoy, Lee Gamble and Kevin Levesque.Thank you everyone.  Chef Kim kept us all quite busy with preparation and service.  We served 45-50 guests of the house, and prepared over 100 meals.  Chef Kim planned the dinner of Philly Steak Sandwiches on Pretzel and plain buns, topped with grilled onions and peppers, sauteed mushrooms, cheese and au jus.  Sides included Roasted Brussel Sprouts, coleslaw and Caesar salad.  Fresh berries and two-bite brownies for dessert.  The team was onsite from 3 - 8PM. 

December 19, 2023

Team 3 made roast beef, roasted potatoes , honey ginger carrots, pasta with broccoli and cheese and gravy for 100 people. The house is very full and everyone was very appreciative of the good meal.  Total cost was $274.81.  Optimists were Bruce Fyfe, Jane Antoniak, Rick Gillespie, Jude Teskey and  Barry Uttley.  Guest helpers were Rob and Connie Atkinson.  Connie is a past member of the Middlesex London Optimists.

November 21, 2023

Many thanks to Optimists Jay Minielly, Zak Rahim, Gary Shawyer, Aron Lubczanski, Jim Easton and Tim Farmillo for their great work cooking up our first vegetarian dinner of chese and potato pierogies, cheese and jalapeno pierogies, roasted carrots and roasted brussel sprouts, sauerkraut and sour cream.  Chef Kim did a great job and assisted with fresh iced cinnamon rolls which gave a wonderful aroma to the house.

October 18, 2023

Team #1 had a busy dinner at Ronald McDonald House.  The House was full and there was a long lineup for dinner.  We cooked roast beef with gravy, potatoes, carrots, ravioli, broccoli, cauliflower and several salads. We had enough food to package meals for latecomers and for the next day.  It was our first turn with new RMH Chef Kim.  She is a great addition to the Kitchen and enhanced our dinner menu for the families.  Cost for the groceries was $207.10.  Our team included Optimists Dave Butt, Jim Smythe, Stephen Giustizia, John Armistead, Michael Hoy, Brent Ashby, Lt.Governor Mike Blencowe and Bill Adams.

August 15, 2023

Team 2 provided the meal at RMH tonight.  It was very well received, with lots of compliments to the team.  Thank you to Optimists, Mike Miletich, Gary Dennerley, Jim Smythe,  Lee Gamble and Kevin Levesque for preparing and serving hamburgers (beef and veggie), hot dogs, potato salad, tossed garden salad and chip snacks. Chef Kim was on hand and helped the team as well as Ron who found his way to the kitchen throughout, performing various tasks.  We served around 100 meals and there were approximately 20 meals prepared for late-comers.  The meal cost $316.87.  Yes, groceries are getting expensive for sure, but there is also an increase in service, from around 70 to approximately 120 meals.

July 18, 2023

Team#1 cooked and served a dinner of roast beef with gravy, mashed potatoes, carrots, salads, vegan pasta and dinner rolls.  The House was full and we ran out of roast beef. The house was near capacity at our last dinner in April, but fewer quests at mealtime and about half of our roast beef was packaged for leftovers. Our grocery bill for last night's dinner was $216.25.  It was the last week in the kitchen for Ron Combs as he moves into his new role as Volunteer Coordinator at RMH. We have appreciated his support for our dinner teams in the 9 years our club has cooked and served meals at RMH.  Ron is on the left of the attached picture with our dinner crew of Stephen Lehman, Mike Blencowe, Bill Adams, Dave Butt, Michael Hoy, John Armistead and Stephen Giustizia.

April 18, 2023

The team cooked dinner for a full house.  The crew consisted of Optimists Dave Butt, Mike Blencowe, Bill Adams, Jim Smythe, Stephen Strutt, Stephen Guistizia, John Armistead and Gary Dennerley.  The menu consisted of roast beef with gravy, mashed potatoes, carrots a vegan pasta and three salads.  The volunteers were surprised to learn that RMH recently received a donation of a potato peeling machine after they had prepared potatoes for about 90 people!  It could have done the job in five minutes.  The cost of the meal was $188.00.  The house graciously presented each volunteer with their own customized apron in recognition of National Volunteer Week.

February 21, 2023

The team of Optimists Tom Delaney, John Armistead, Frank DeCicco, Gary Shawyer, Tim Farmillo and Kevin levesque prepared and served meat and vegetarian chilli with dinner rolls and salad. The cost of the supplies was $238.67.  We received lots of good complements on the meal as we served approx 45 guests of the house.  Leftovers were packaged for later enjoyment

January 17, 2023

Team #1 prepared dinner in the house on this date.  The menu was roast beef, mashed potatoes, salad, and carrots with a vegetarian offering of pasta.  The new capacity of the house is 85 people and almost all of them attended over the dinner hour, which meant that there was less left for leftovers.  Optimists Dave Butt, Aron Lubczanski and Stephen Strutt were our volunteers for the evening.

October 21, 2022

Team #1 served roast beef with gravy, potatoes, carrots, kale and ceasar salads.  They also prepared a vegan pasta.  Our cost for groceries was $141.  A baking group provided an assortment of Halloween themed cupcakes and desserts.  While the House was near capacity, we didn't have a big turnout for dinner but there was plenty of leftovers we packaged for late comers and the next day.  We look forward to a return to our regular 3rd Tuesday of the month dinners.  Masks are required in the kitchen. They are supplied by RMH.

July 21, 2022

The Team #1 crew of Optimists Dave Butt, Mike Blencowe, Michael Hoy, Stephen Strutt and Bill Adams prepared and served dinner on Thursday, July 21 at Ronald McDonald House.  We cooked roast beef, with gravy, potatoes and carrots.  We also served a tossed salad and a vegan pasta.  The meal cost was $187.42.  The House was about 3/4's full and we had a lot of house guests through for dinner.  Leftovers were packaged for latecomers.

May 17, 2022

Fourty plus families in the house enjoyed the meal of BBQ chicken drums, roasted seasoned potato wedges and caesar salad prepared by Optimists Ruth Harland, Mike Miletich, Gary Shawyer, Brian Gibson and Kevin Levesque.  The leftovers were packaged by house staff for later enjoyment.

April 19, 2022 

Team #1 served roast beef with gravy, roasted potatoes, carrots and 2 salads. We also served a vegan pasta which was so popular we had to make a second batch.

There were about 40 guests in the house and we served meals to about 15 or 20 in the dining room.  The leftovers were boxed up for late comers and next day lunches.

Team leader Dave Butt, Optimists Stephen Giustizia, Michael Hoy and Bill Adams.  We were advised that cooking groups are now allowed to have six volunteers in the kitchen.

March 15, 2022

Team 3 cooked a St. Patty’s Day themed dinner for the 55 or so people staying at the house on Tuesday, March 15th.  We cooked up a Sheppard’s Pie with beef along with salad and cupcakes for dessert.  There was just enough left over for a repeat for Wednesday’s lunch.  Our team leaders were away but we persevered with Optimists Rick Gillespie, Pat Flannery, Jude Teskie, Barry Uttley and Aron Lubczanski who will be inducted at our next club meeting.  It was the first time for Barry and Aron but I have the feeling it won’t be the last.  The total cost of the meal was $163.97.  One more thing – no one told me there would be hair nets!

February 15, 2022

We had a very successful dinner at RMH last night.The Optimist Club of London, Oakridge Acres were the first group back to the house following COVID lockdowns.  It was  good to get back into action for the club.  Thank you to Optimists Gary Shawyer, Eric Riley, Norm Smith, Doug Cameron and Kevin Levesque, who prepared and served seasoned chicken breasts, vegetable medley (Potatoes, Carrots, Celery and Onion), caesar salad, with pound cake and butter tarts for dessert.

October 19, 2021

Team #1 returned to the RMH Kitchen after a year's absence due to Covid restrictions.  Our crew included our team leader Dave Butt, Randy Brewe, Michael Hoy, Jim Smythe and Bill Adams.  We served roast beef and welcomed the new Bosch ovens in the kitchen.  We also prepared potatoes, carrots, tossed salad and a vegan pasta. For dessert we served pumpkin and apple pies.  There were about 20 families staying in the House.  We didn't see a big turnout for dinner but we boxed up dinners for late comers and provided plenty of roast beef for sandwiches.

October 20, 2020

Our RMH Team #1 dinner crew of Optimists (left to right in linked photo) Bill Adams, Jim Smythe, Stephen Strutt, Zak Rahim and Michael Hoy prepared and served roast beef, potatoes and green beans. A very good gravy for our roast beef & potatoes was prepared by Optimist Zak! Our meal also featured 2 mixed salads and dinner rolls and for dessert we provided watermelon slices and carrot cake.  We packed leftovers for late diners. There were about 35-40 guests in the house.  Our grocery cost for the dinner was $161.  Thanks to our crew for an excellent job!

September 15, 2020

Team #3 cooked the RMH dinner this evening.  We served baked chicken breasts, half with sweet chilli Thai sauce and half with bbq sauce.  Both went well. We also served small baked potatoes, glazed baby carrots and broccoli with cheese sauce.  Brownies and butter tarts were offered for dessert.  We cooked for 30 people at a cost of $163.49.  Team members included Optimists Doug Mackay, Megan Telfer, Rick Gillespie, Jane Antoniak and Bruce Fyfe.  There were only 9 families in the house due to Covid-19. 

July 21, 2020

Team #1 was back in the kitchen at Ronald McDonald House tonight with a crew of Optimists Randy Brewe, Frank DeCicco, Stephen Giustizia, Zak Rahim (his first RMH dinner with the club) and Bill Adams.  Our back to the kitchen menu was BBQ'd chicken, roasted potatoes, carrots, salad and apple crumble pie. The meal cost $225.97.  The cafeteria serving station has not been set up yet so we prepared dinner plates or take out boxes that were distributed to the house guests by Ron and Angela from RMH.  Leftovers were packaged in take out boxes for those arriving later.  We debuted the new club face masks thanks to Kevin Levesque (and Malea).  They were great!  The COVID procedures at the front door went smoothly.  Temperature check, form to fill and then into the kitchen.

January 21, 2020

On January 21, Team #1 cooked a roast beef dinner along with potatoes and carrots. We also served a mixed salad and prepared a vegan pasta. Food cost was $198.32.  There was a flu outbreak at the hospital that day so RMH staff decided just before dinner that it would be best for our team to serve the meal. They were concerned about the possibility the flu bug could be spread by having the house guests handling the serving utensils.  We scrambled to set up our food trays on one of the kitchen islands and served the food to the guests who lined up with their plates. They didn't seem to mind this and it gave our team an opportunity to interact with them. We received a lot of great feedback for our work.  The crew included Optimists Dave Butt, Randy Brewe, Mike Blencowe, Michael Hoy, Stephen Strutt, Al Magrath and yours truly, Bill Adams.

November 19, 2019

Optimists Patrick Flannery, Eric Riley, Mike Miletich, Gary Shawyer, Kevin Leveque and Gary Dennerley volunteered their time to prepare and serve maple pork chops, chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy and mixed vegetables.  Mini cinnamon buns were available for dessert.  The house was over capacity and the food went fast.  Meal cost came in at $147.93.  Thanks to all for the work and the fun.

October 15, 2019

Team #1 prepared a Roast Beef dinner with gravy, potatoes, carrots, dinner rolls and tossed salad. We also made a vegan pasta dish. 

There were leftover Roast beef, gravy, potatoes and pasta for latecomers and for the next day.  Meal cost: $168  Dinner crew included: Optimists Dave Butt, Mike Blencowe, Stephen Strutt, Bruce Pope, Al Magrath, Brent Ashby, Jim Smythe and Bill Adams.

July 16, 2019

Team #1 served a roast beef dinner with gravy, potatoes and carrots along with a tossed salad.  A vegan pasta dish was also prepared.  Team leader Dave Butt, President Mike and Randy Brewe got the roasts, potatoes and carrots in the ovens in the morning.  Stephen Giustizia, Michael Hoy and Bill Adams joined Dave in the afternoon and completed the meal preparations.  The dinner hour wasn't too busy even though the house is full.  There were plenty of leftovers in the fridge for late arrivals and for the next day.

April 16, 2019

Team one prepared and served a roast beef dinner to families staying at Ronald McDonald House.  Leader Dave Butt and Stephen Strutt did the morning prep work getting the roasts in the ovens along with potatoes, carrots and onions.  Optimists President Mike Blencowe, Al Magrath and Bill Adams were met by the aroma of roast beef from the kitchen when they arrived in the afternoon.  Dave returned to prepare the gravy.  We had a big crowd for dinner which also included a tossed salad and a vegetarian pasta.  There was a good selection of desserts on hand and lots of leftovers for those arriving later.  Our meal cost was $285.

March 19, 2019

Team 3 Optimist volunteers Kevin Heslop, Doug Mackay, Gary Dennerley, Megan Telfer and Archie Wright served up hard and soft shelled beef tacos with cheese, lettuce, onions, salsa and sour cream with sides of rice and salad and some bars for dessert.  We had a big crowd of over 100 adults and kids on hand.  The total cost was #387.18.

February 19, 2019

The team of Optimists Doug Mackay, Kevin Levesque, Brian Gibson, Norm Smith and Gary Shawyer prepared dinner for house residents.  They prepared oven baked BBQ chicken breast, roasted new potatoes, baby carrots and broccoli with cheese sauce.  Sweet bite pastries were served for dessert.  There were many positive comments by appreciative dinner guests.  The total const of the meal was $195.25.

January 15, 2019

Group 1 was assigned to prepare dinner at Ronald McDonald House on Tuesday, January 15th. Volunteers were Optimists Stephen Strutt, Stephen Giustizia, Al Magrath, Matt Brown, Rick Gillespie and President Mike Blencowe.  The group made beef and veggie chilli with lots for leftovers for lunch tomorrow, tossed salad and cookies.  The total cost of the meal was $344.21. Pictured below are Optimists Mike, Al and Matt holding up the counter while in the other photo you can see Optimists Stephens washing dishes.

June 19, 2018

Four members of the club cooked dinner for the residents at Ronald McDonald House. The menu consisted of barbeque chicken, baby carrots in brown sugar sauce, small potatoes, salad, and dessert. The total bill was $277.68. The volunteers were Jay Minielly, Ron Fisher, Doug Mackay, and Kevin Heslop.

September 18, 2018

A team of Optimists volunteered to cook oven roasted chicken breast with mixed veggies, Caesar salad and deserts for a group of 70 people staying at the house.  See the image.  From left are Optimists Kevin Levesque, Brian Gibson, Dave Butt, Megan Telfer and Tim Farmillo.