Ghostbusters North is extremely honored, proud, and grateful that we are able to put forth our adventures to help fund various charities. We venture forth into the world, we bring smiles, and sometimes we are able to create monetary funds to “do good” in the world!
By using the vehicle of the 1984 blockbuster comedy “Ghostbusters” (which everyone loves in one way or another), we have been involved in several ventures that benefit the greater good.
Here are a few of our favorites:
RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF THE UPPER MIDWEST
Harper proudly donates a check of funds raised by Ghostbusters North to the Ronald McDonald House of the Upper Midwest in 2023.
One of our absolute favorite organizations to support is the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Upper Midwest.
You might know some bits and pieces about this organization if you ventured into a McDonald’s restaurant. They have the red change boxes by the purchase points. But what do they do in “official” words? Here’s the official source but some highlights are listed below:
We Support Families
- We keep families together when it matters most. We offer a warm, welcoming “home-away-from-home” and services that range from schooling to meals to family-friendly activities.
- When a child’s health is at risk, a family’s world can feel like it’s falling apart. RMHC-UM helps these families land in the hands of a loving, sympathetic community when they need it most.
Our Locations
Each year, we serve over 6,600 families at our four Twin Cities locations:
View All Locations for the RMHC Upper Midwest!
Approximately 97% of the families we serve are from the Upper Midwest,with the rest coming to us from the remainder of the U.S. and across the globe.
HOW DO YOU HELP?
“Okay, okay… I dig what you cats do and want to help support your mission, how do I donate and help you with your charitable mission? Please allow me to help!”
Our approach is simple and since you used the magic word (unlike some bearded government employees), we will share the magic with you:
EVENTS
We appear in a variety of community and children specific events ranging from parades, birthday parties, outdoor movies, bar mitzvahs, retirement parties, and so on. Why? If there’s a steady paycheck in it, we will believe whatever you say.
Basically, we are for hire.
How much you ask? Well, that part is up to you.
For our events, we ask that a paper check be made out to the Ronald McDonald House of the Upper Midwest with Ghostbusters North on the memo line. We want to make the joy that we bring accessible to everyone and when it comes to charity, people usually give it a fair shake.
After the event, we collect the check, write a letter about the event and send it off to the staff at RMHC-UM. After all, the story of where this money came from is fun for them to read and see.
DONATION DRIVES
We often do donation drives. Two major drives that we have done include:
- Pop Tabs
- Coffee
Save your pop tabs! About twice a year, we will collect pop tabs and bring them to the Ronald McDonald House campus in Minneapolis. We only ask that you just collect the silver color ones as the painted ones have pigment that ruin the recycling process.
In the fall of 2018, we received an SOS from RMHC that they were running out of coffee in the form of K-Cups. These offer flexibility for families that stay at the campuses as they are often on the go and can’t brew a “community” pot of coffee. It’s faster, safer, and pleases everyone.
We answered the call and created the “Coffee? Yes Have Some!” donation drive. During the 2018 holiday season, we raised over 3,000 cups of coffee for the families at the RMHC with the aide of fellow ‘busters, Ghostbusters Medi-Corps.
Our efforts helped to inspire other franchises in similar donation drives to their local RMHC campuses and we look to continue this event as the years go on.
INSPIRATION!
We hope that our efforts of going out into the world, dressed as our favorite paranormal investigators and eliminators, will help to inspire YOU!
This is why parades are so near and dear to our ectoplasm filled hearts; it’s cheap entertainment and we get to meet ALL OF YOU!
Maybe you decide that you want to help volunteer or donate to the RMHC via their website, tip us on our Facebook account (money goes to RMHC but logs what we collect and makes us HAPPY!)
Basically, we want to have fun, bring some smiles, and save the world… one charity at a time!
If you’d like to donate to RMHC via a Ghostbusters North tip because we have made you smile, we would like that and that’s payment enough for all that we do.