Sacramento State students and alumni became landscapers and volunteered their service on Saturday at the Ronald McDonald House Outdoor Work Party.

Sac State Serves, a volunteer program, organized the 45 students and alumni that organizes such events. Sac State students have been volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House since it opened in December 1998.

Any child up to 18 years old who is recovering from a serious illness is eligible to stay at the Ronald McDonald House &- a place away from the hospital environment.

The volunteers began the day putting on their gardening gloves and trimmed small bushes and trees, pulled weeds and gathered leaves.

“It’ll mean a lot to the families that come here,” said Emmalee Dornbrush, a freshman volunteer. “If it makes their lives easier, it’s worth me to give a couple hours.”

Jacob Mickelson, a childhood development major, said he is glad to help out people in need.

“The least we can do is help beautify the property and make the area look nice because I’m sure they don’t have time to do stuff like this with all the work they do with the kids.” Mickelson said.

The group manicured the surrounding foliage around the Ronald McDonald House until noon and wiped clean the children’s bikes and wagons.

Misty Sisneros-Garcia, coordinator of the Community Engagement Center, said the purpose of Sac State Serves is to connect faculty, students and alumni with different service areas in a 12-month period.

This is the second time Sac State students and alumni gardened and cleaned the grounds the Ronald McDonald House.

Stacey Hodge, director of community relations at the Ronald McDonald House, said the place could not run without the volunteers of Sac State Serves.

“It’s so amazing for our families because we have these individuals who are giving up their first warm, sunny day in Sacramento,” Hodge said.

Garcia said Sac State Serves’ events usually consist of 50 percent students and 25 percent alumni.

Ashley Henry, a family and consumer science major, said she recently began volunteering with Sac State Serves.

“I’ve never really pulled weeds before, so this is a first time experience for me being outdoors, doing something like this,” Henry said.

Alumna Mary Benton has volunteered with many organizations over the years, but said she tries to stay connected to Sac State. Benton said her niece had a premature baby at Stanford Children’s Hospital. They stayed at the Ronald McDonald House for seven weeks while the newborn recovered from major heart surgery.

The Ronald McDonald House takes in about 85 families a night. They stay at the four-bedroom homes while their children are sick and recovering. Each patient’s house includes all the amenities along with a rocking chair and a DVD player for children to watch their favorites movies.

While volunteers toured the Ronald McDonald House with coordinator Lois Polaschek, she showed her favorite place in the house &- the computer room. Inside were framed photographs of children who stayed at the Ronald McDonald House on the wall.

A 5-year-old girl who was in one of the pictures stood with brown hair that went down her back. Polaschek said she was undergoing cancer treatment when the girl stayed at the Ronald McDonald House. After the girl’s cancer went into remission, her hair grew back and she is now donating it to Wigs For Kids.

“It puts in perspective what and how easy our lives are,” Mickelson said. “We complain about going to school and all our homework we have to do and here we are helping these kids out who probably have problems way worse than ours.”

Mallory Fites can be reached at [email protected]