Since 2015, Lighthouse has been partnering with Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) and their House locations across the world by conducting drives to collect monetary and in-kind donations. RMHC supports seriously ill children and their families by providing them with a place to stay, food to eat, and activities to do while undergoing treatment at local hospitals.

In early 2016, when two Lighthouse team members visited the Seattle House to drop off Holiday drive donations and meet the RMHC team, they also got the chance to tour the property, hear about the house's history, meet some of the families, and visit the pantry. One thing that really resonated with them was that one of the volunteers in the pantry noted how hard the summer months were on the House and its residents, as the pantry typically becomes extremely bare.

"Most food donations come to us during a time when most people are thinking about charity—during the holidays and Thanksgiving. However, our need for food is strongest in the summer, as this is the time when our supplies run low. We have more people in the House during the summer, as many patient siblings come to the House to stay while school is out. During July and August, the combination of more people and less supplies can be a real challenge!"—Ronald McDonald House Charities Blog.

It was then that Lighthouse decided that the company would build on their partnership and run an additional drive in the summer months as well as during the Holidays each year. And thus, the Holiday in July Food Drive was born in the summer of 2016. This drive is quickly becoming an annual tradition, and for the past two years, employees across the globe have provided tremendous support to help raise food, household items, and funds.

This past July, we ran a two-week drive across our New York, London, Seattle, and San Francisco offices, along with the support of our many remote employees. We were able to donate food and household supplies that amounted in:

• A year's supply of toothpaste for two families
• 640 diapers and 2,400 baby wipes
• Over $650 in cash donations

In all, donations totaled over $2,500. This drive will continue to be an ongoing tradition for Lighthouse and our hope is to expand its scale and reach with each passing year.

For more information on RMHC or to get involved as a volunteer, click here. To learn more about how Lighthouse partner's with the community, check out our Partners Give Back page.