TideWater Landscape Management installed holiday lighting pro bono in July at the Ronald McDonald House of the Coastal Empire in Savannah, Ga. The families were ecstatic with decorations and the children were dazzled by the magic of Christmas.

 

TideWater volunteered 20 hours of labor and a $20,000 lighting package for the Christmas decorations during July and will do so again late this fall. - Photo Courtesy of TideWater Landscape Management, Inc.

Back in July, TideWater Landscape Management, Inc. donated labor and materials to bring Christmas to the Ronald McDonald House of the Coastal Empire of Georgia. The house of the Coastal Empire is located on the campus of the Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah.

To spotlight the organization, TideWater brought a bit of the Christmas Spirit to those families and volunteers at the Ronald McDonald House.

''When our families walk across the street to see our house lit up with Christmas lights and decorations, a smile is brought to their face,'' said Bill Sorochak, executive director of the Ronald McDonald House. ''This smile is an outward indication of the hope and comfort that they feel as a result of the thoughtfulness of others. This gift of hope is often what carries these families out of one of the most frightening times of their lives and back to a sense of normal.''

This Thanksgiving TideWater will install the same decorations, plus add lights to the backyard and roof lines. The spirit of giving is alive and well.

Most of the work was performed from the ground, with the use of a ladder as needed. This year TideWater will use an aerial boom truck as the roof is high and steep. The boom will also allow TideWater to work around the mature trees surrounding the building.

This hospital is one of the leading critical care and trauma centers for the Southeast and a long time landscape management client of TideWater. The house serves families from across the region by offering room and board while their loved ones are recovering in the hospital.

TideWater's CEO, Rachel Kelly, is eternally grateful to the Ronald McDonald House for taking care of her sister's family this past year. An unexpected illness sent her sister to the intensive care unit at her local hospital where she delivered her premature daughter. Naturally, the young baby spent weeks in the NICU gaining strength while her mother recovered. All the while, Rachel's brother-in-law spent his days taking care of his wife and newborn daughter as he prayed for a speedy recovery.

Unfortunately, the family lived two hours away from the hospital, which made for a logistical nightmare. It was here that the Ronald McDonald House and volunteers stepped in and provided this worried husband and father food and a place to stay while he cared for his loved ones. Happily, weeks later the family was finally released from the hospital and have enjoyed a full recovery.