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Spinach, feta and tomato pizzas, crispy chicken tenders, southern-style baked macaroni & cheese, turmeric roasted green beans and sweet potatoes, banana split fruit kabobs and chocolate cupcakes were just a few of the menu items on the LMASE Board of Director's list. "We held our board meeting at SmithBucklin, our association's management company, and also carved out time to cook a meal for 50-75 residents at the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) in downtown Chicago," said Jill Huse, this year's LMASE President and the Director of Marketing at Moore & Van Allen. "We split up appetizers, main course dishes and desserts between our board members, and had fun cooking while getting to know the residents and spending time together."  

Known as the home away from home to those navigating the perils of a child with serious medical issues, RMH is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. "You never know who may need to stay here, says LMASE Board Member Ioana Good with Lowndes Drosdick, who has recently had a family member stay at the RMH in Cleveland, Ohio. "It makes me happy to see this outpouring of support from our organization."

The LMASE charitable arm called LMASE Cares chose RMH as its chapter-wide organization to give back to after its successful program last year at the RMH in Charleston, SC. After last year's Regional Conference, LMASE volunteered in a day of service playing games with children, making beds, organizing closets and more. LMASE members also contributed by donating money and items such as toothpaste, shampoo, raisers, hair brushes and more. This year the word has spread and many City Groups have already given back in various ways and will continue to do so throughout the year. LMASE has a lot planned this year at the chapter level, including hosting a RMH 5K run and selling buttons at the regional conference in Nashville to fundraise and collect pop tabs to keep LMASE members engaged on a daily basis. City Groups throughout the southeast have embraced their local Ronald McDonald House for additional outreach including serving meals, fundraising, and collecting items for donation.The genesis of LMASE Cares started in 2008. The LMASE Annual Conference was being held in New Orleans in 2008 and since the city was still on the road to recovery from Hurricane Katrina, the LMASE Board of Directors made the decision to give back. After reviewing the many available options, the board selected to help City Park, a historic New Orleans landmark.

In September of that year, approximately 50 LMASE Chapter members and vendors volunteered to string lights and help read the Story Land section of the park for the holidays. This small act of giving back made a tremendous impact on City Park.