Sallie Brooks Found Refuge at RMHC
June 28, 2022

Thousands of families have walked through the doors of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Chattanooga to stay while their child is in the hospital. Many of those families, after they have stayed at RMHC, have chosen to give back by becoming donors, volunteers, or even board members. For Sallie Brooks, a former RMHC resident, she has chosen to give back to the organization in each and every way she possibly can.


“I didn’t realize the scope of our mission at Ronald McDonald House until my daughter was in a car wreck and we had spent two nights in the waiting room,” said Sallie. “Finally someone said you can go over across the street and there’s a place for you.”


22 years ago, Sallie and her late husband Mark’s daughter endured a horrific, life-altering car accident. This car accident resulted in their daughter Kelly undergoing numerous emergency surgeries due to ruptured intestines from the impact, facial surgery from a cracked jaw and countless broken bones in her face and a severe spinal cord injury. Kelly was 16-years-old at the time.


All the while and for months after the accident, Sallie and Mark needed to process and plan their next steps of this life changing event that left their daughter with a long journey to recovery, all while discovering Kelly was now paralyzed from the waist down.

Throughout this entire process, Sallie and Mark never felt alone. However, having been given their own personal waiting room in Erlanger Hospital due to the volume of visitors, they became overwhelmed by the support.


“It was wonderful to have that support from family and friends, but also I had no time to process what was going on or figure out what we needed to do,” shared Sallie. “So, looking back, I always say when we came to RMHC it became our refuge.”


For Sallie, the Ronald McDonald House was where she and her family could process and rest in the midst of something so horrible that their child was enduring. “It was a place Mark and I could get away from the crowd and we could even sleep a little,” said Sallie. “I will never forget the two weeks that you served me and I was in the worst state of my life I had no idea what I was doing half the time, but I didn’t have to because you all were just providing anything and everything.”


With Kelly as the oldest of their three girls, Sallie and Mark needed RMHC not only to process and take care of one another, but they needed moments to feel like a family again.


“The girls would come after school and eat the RMHC meals with us and it would give us family time, said Sallie. “Food is necessary to nourish our bodies, but it is also a comfort and a place that people can gather to eat and reconnect.”


Throughout their two weeks at their home-away-from-home, they were able to witness not only how the organization helped them, but how RMHC helps other families going through the same experience.


“Where you see the most people in this house is about two in the morning in that big kitchen. You hadn’t eaten all day because you’re trying to process,” said Sallie. “Nobody is here that’s not going through something horrible and everybody was in the middle of the night trying to find something to eat. You’d be in your pajamas in the kitchen and you run into everybody raiding the refrigerator.”


During a time when they were at a loss at how each day would look let alone the next meal would be, RMHC created a space where Sallie and Mark could tuck each of those worries away and focus solely on Kelly’s recovery.


“I think everybody can relate to being fed and comforted in a difficult time in their lives,” said Sallie. “To this day, when I walk through that door my stomach flip flops. There is a smell in this house that brings all the memories back and that’s why I am so grateful for this house.”


Now decades later, Sallie and her entire family understand the importance of Ronald McDonald House Charities and how it has shaped their lives.


During the House’s kitchen renovation in early 2022, Sallie and her family donated funds to create an ADA compliant portion of the RMHC kitchen, in honor of Mark and Kelly. Sallie continuously dedicates her time as a volunteer, board member and advocate for the continuation of keeping families close at Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Chattanooga.



“This place has my heart and I think it always will,” said Sallie.

Thirty-Five Years, One Mission

By Izabelle Bradley • June 16, 2025
This House is much more than a building, it is a place where parents can find peace over a cup of coffee, siblings can make fast friends in the playroom, and a long day in the hospital can end with a shared meal and the comfort of not being alone. Ronald McDonald House hallways have seen spirits break and heal- but one thing stays the same: the families are the heart of the Home. For three and a half decades, RMHC’s mission has remained unwavering: To provide families with the care and resources they need when their child is sick and to support programs and services that directly improve the health and well-being of children. More than just a place to sleep, RMHC Chattanooga offers home-cooked meals, a warm bed, and a supportive community that understands the emotional toll of medical trauma. No matter the length of time or service utilized, the goal is to lift the strain families are facing. Every room in the House holds a powerful story. Some begin with the fear of an early birth, others with a diagnosis no parent expects. In just the first few months of 2025, a mother found rest while her 9-year-old daughter received leukemia treatment next door at Erlanger. She was joined by her two younger daughters, and for 51 nights, this House became their safe place. In another room, a mother stayed close during her newborn’s 112-day fight in the NICU. Her baby boy was born at just 24 weeks. She remained strong, showing up each day alone while dad continued working back home. A few doors down, a family from Rhea County checked in after their newborn’s emergency transfer to the NICU. They stayed for 106 nights, finding strength in the rhythm of close hospital visits, prepared meals, and the community of other parents walking a similar road. These are not rare stories, but the reality inside the walls of RMHC for the past 35 years. From its beginnings as a 12-bedroom house, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Chattanooga has grown into a multi-program organization focused on meeting families where they are. The Ronald McDonald Family Room at Erlanger extends comfort into the hospital itself, while House to Home provides support beyond a family’s stay. The addition of the Mindful Room offers a quiet, reflective space inside the House designed for emotional rest and healing. This incredible work would not be possible without the generous support of the local community. From corporate sponsors and longtime donors to volunteers and Adopt-A-Meal groups, countless people have played a role in sustaining the mission. McDonald’s owner/operators, in particular, have been an essential part of the organization’s foundation and future, contributing not only funds but also time, heart, and advocacy since the facility’s inception. Since 1990, RMHC of Greater Chattanooga has served thousands of families, each with a story that shaped the organization’s legacy. While the programs may grow and evolve, the aim will always be the same: to support families when they need it most, with compassion, understanding, and care. As RMHC of Greater Chattanooga celebrates this milestone anniversary, it also steps into a new season— one rooted in the same love that has carried the mission since day one. While much has changed, one thing never will: family will always be the heart of the Home.

Hope Under Every Roof

By Izabelle Bradley • April 29, 2025
At Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Chattanooga, we believe that our mission works best when it feels like family and few reflect that spirit more beautifully than the team at Southern Roofing and Exteriors. For the past year and a half, Chris and DeeDee Dyer along with their son and C.E.O, Terrell, have shown up faithfully through our Adopt-A-Meal program, preparing dinner once a month for the families staying at our House. DeeDee plans the meals, cooks them with care, and brings a sense of comfort that can’t be measured in servings. “Children are my heart,” DeeDee shared. “RMHC has always been on our radar — we’re just grateful for the opportunity to give back.” Their impact doesn’t stop in the kitchen. It’s woven into their company culture. A few weeks ago, one of their team members, Josh, started volunteering with us for Adopt-A-Meal and something clicked. After helping serve dinner, he came back for more: supporting our BugaPalüza event, helping at the front desk, and even bringing his fiancée, McKayla, to serve alongside him. What Josh shared afterward left us teary eyed. “These people are putting families together.” He said that being here and seeing the mission in action — gave him the confidence to propose. But what makes Josh’s story even more powerful is what brought him here. When Josh was 12 years old, he collapsed after a cold cross-country meet. What followed was a sudden diagnosis of pectus excavatum, a severe chest wall deformity that required major open-heart surgery. Doctors placed a stabilizing bar across his chest, and he spent seven months on bed rest. During that time, with 75 miles between their home and the hospital, Josh’s family, his parents and two younger siblings, stayed at Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Piedmont Triad in Winston-Salem, North Carolina for six days. Now, years later, he’s back in a Ronald McDonald House — not as a patient or a guest, but as a volunteer. A giver. We’re so grateful to the Dyer family and Southern Roofing and Exteriors for the love they’ve poured into our mission. From meals, to memories, to moments of connection that remind us why we do what we do. They are, in every sense, helping us keep families together.