This week on Triangle Radio Podcast, Jordan chats with Oie Osterkamp, Executive Director of Ronald McDonald House of Durham and Wake (RMH). Oie talks about his background and how his passion to help those in need led him to the organization that makes such a positive impact on the lives of seriously ill children and their families.
Oie grew up in Nash County and recalls that coming to Raleigh as a kid was a big deal, as Raleigh was regarded as a big city. He moved to Raleigh in 1989, and has been in the Triangle ever since.
Before taking on the role of Executive Director at RMH, Oie's work focused on helping people find what they were ‘designed and built’ to do. He first heard about RMH in 2010, when he asked a friend to be on the board of Sharefish, a nonprofit he helped to create to address the cycle of poverty in a small village in Honduras. His friend declined the position due to timing; he was on the RMH board and they were in the middle of a search for a new Executive Director. He passed the job description along to Oie, who didn't look it over until his wife, Becky, told him that this position practically screamed his name.
After a few interviews, Oie visited the Ronald McDonald House in Durham. Walking through the hallways, he gazed up at the ceiling tiles decorated by children and families who had stayed there, and was left speechless. Oie left knowing there was something planned for him with the organization. Oie was offered the position and has been there since 2012.
The mission of Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) follows the belief that children should not have to fight serious illness alone. Hospitality is at the core of their mission, to provide meals, a place to sleep, and comfort to families so that they can be with their children during their greatest time of need.
And in Durham, the Ronald McDonald House particularly strives to be a beacon for the community. The local house is all due to Dr. John Falletta, a Pediatric Specialist in Durham, who recognized a need for a Ronald McDonald House in Durham. He came up with a business plan that he and a group of other business leaders presented to the McDonalds board, but the plan was first rejected because there wasn't a local professional football team for financial stability. This didn't discourage Dr. Falletta who insisted the local community would rally around this cause - and who not only convinced the board to approve a Durham house - it also re-shaped the financial side of the program away from just the NFL and into new areas.
Right now, Ronald McDonald House in Durham has 55 rooms, Ronald McDonald House inside of Wake Med in Raleigh has 5 bedrooms, and there is a family room at Duke Hospital and at Wake Med Children's Hospital - all of these locations serve about 30,000 people a year.
The Ronald McDonald House in Durham has 55 bedrooms and the Ronald McDonald House at WakeMed in Raleigh has 5 bedrooms. RMH also operates hospital-based Family Room programs at Duke and at WakeMed Children's Hospitals. All told, these programs touch the lives of about 30,000 people a year.
As for the most powerful leadership moment or life lesson that Oie has experienced so far, he says that he has learned that listening, rather than talking, makes him a much more effective leader. He added that his job is not to take care of the guest families, but to lead the people who lead those who take care of the guest families. His goal is to make these individuals the best leaders they can possibly be and, to do this, he is fully committed to his position and his team.
We so appreciate Oie joining us and all that he and his team do for families in need.
If you would like to support our local Ronald McDonald House, you can like them on Facebook to stay up to date with their latest updates and needs, and you can purchase wish list items from their Amazon list here.
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