Baking a Difference

The latest buzz and excitement in the volunteer department is all around the new “Baking A Difference” program. Every other Wednesday, volunteers gather in one of kitchens to prepare pre-planned recipes for the refreshment cart and various family programming activities. Volunteer helpers and Inn family members join together for a fun culinary experience as they throw on Inn aprons and start dicing, slicing, and mixing ingredients. My favorite part of the program is when the children proudly walk around the offices giving out samples of their yummy treats. You can’t help but smile when a child hands you a chocolate covered pretzel that they made with their own tiny little hands.

The Dynamic Kitchen Crew

It's no small task organizing hundreds of cabinets and drawers filled with plates, cooking utensils, silverware, pans and just about every kitchen gadget you can think of. Inn families can be quite challenged when trying to find a plastic lid to match the appropriate container. That's when we call in our dynamic kitchen crew - Inn volunteers Jodi Arlen, Hillary Hoopes and Beth D'Arcy. These neighborhood friends, joined forces to volunteer together on specified mornings after dropping off their children at school. To them, no wooden spoon is left unturned and the families are thrilled to visit with them as they tidy up all three of The Inn's kitchens.

Ginger Weingarten and Interface Media Group Support The Inn

Children's Inn Welcome Desk Volunteer Ginger Weingarten covered the opening of The Inn 20 years ago as a producer and field reporter for local ABC affiliate, WJLA-TV.  Standing on the steps overlooking The Inn's Great Room, she interviewed Dr. Phil Pizzo, then chief of pediatrics at the National Cancer Institute, who was instrumental in establishing The Inn.

Throughout the 1990's, compelling 'stories' brought Ginger back to The Inn and the Clinical Center. When it was time for her own daughter's Girl Scout troop to pick a community service project, the troop watched a video about The Inn and the choice was clear.

Now, Ginger returns to The Inn each week, this time greeting families as the Wednesday morning "Welcome Desk" volunteer.

"I decided it was time for a 'volunteer home base,' and I looked to The Inn," Ginger said. "The family members, staff and fellow volunteers are all amazing. We all know our young guests face a multitude of medical inquiries and many unknowns.

"At The Inn, it's all about easing those challenges. I'm so very proud to be part of 'a place like home,' " Ginger said.

In her energetic, dynamic style, Ginger has done much more than welcome families through The Inn's front doors. She has gone out of her way to make sure The Inn is prepared to showcase its important mission to the media. Ginger, along with her husband Jeff Weingarten, owner of Interface Media Group in Washington, D.C., a premier media production company, are happy to help advance The Inn's interests. Through Ginger's passion and persistence, the company devoted more than a dozen hours - at NO cost to The Inn - producing a digital media packet that can be shared with general media outlets interested in featuring The Inn.

"This is a tremendous resource for The Inn," said Kathy L. Russell, The Inn's CEO. "We are most grateful to Ginger and Jeff and their talented staff."

The award-winning staff at Interface Media Group is dedicated to serving several nonprofit organizations, including: For the Love of Children, which provides educational experiences beyond the classroom to low-income, under-privileged youth, and The Washington Humane Society, among others.

Jeff Weingarten said he has learned much about The Inn through Ginger's volunteer work here.

"We all know pro bono work is vital to our society, so is the work of The Inn," said Jeff. "The Inn's commitment to help young people around the globe stay together with their families as they face daunting health challenges, made our decision at Interface Media Group an easy one to make."