BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The Bakersfield Ronald McDonald House will be hosting its third annual Adventure Central Charity Livestream that will have events like eating challenges, games, prizes, and more, all while trying to raise money for families in need.
“That was like our home away from home, it's like an extended family,” said Crystal Martinez.
Crystal Martinez was once a resident at The Bakersfield Ronald McDonald House and recalls how important it was to have that support for her family when her daughter was sick.
“My daughter Isabella was just two months old. She was admitted into The Bakersfield Memorial Hospital and with valley fever we were there for about two months,” said Martinez.
Although Martinez is from Bakersfield, the house provides a roof for a lot of families coming from different areas.
“Any funds or money raised goes directly to the house, you know it helps keep the house running, it helps you know provide services for other families that you know have their children in the hospital,” said Martinez.
The fundraiser is a virtual event lasting 12 hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday.
“It's just a fun way for us as fundraisers and for a community organization to also interact with other donors that we may not actually ever have the opportunity to interact with before, and so it's bringing new people to our organization,” said Director of The Bakersfield Ronald McDonald House Scarlett Sabin.
Scarlett Sabin, The Director of The Bakersfield Ronald McDonald House says all proceeds from the event will help support families using the house.
She says last year's event helped raise $3,000 and this year they have a higher goal to reach.
“So we are just hoping you know that the matching gift happens and we can raise that $10,000 this weekend,” said Sabin.
With a goal that is three times from last year's event, Sabin says a lot of out of area families stay at the Bakersfield location and that is why they have raised their goal in order to have the necessary supplies to run the house.
Sabin says it is great to see the community come together to make donations to help families staying at the house.
“It's just really rewarding to me to see people wanting to make an impact and that is the one thing I love about our organization is you know what they are having fun, they are raising a tremendous amount of money for us, and they are inspiring others, that is what this event is about,” said Sabin.
The fundraiser is a two day event and will start today and tomorrow from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
