La Société Hono­raire de Français, or the French Honor Soci­ety, has taken the gift of giving back to another level this holi­day season. Through collab­o­ra­tions with the Ronald McDon­ald House Char­i­ties of Greater Wash­ing­ton, DC (RMHCDC), the French Honor Soci­ety gives qual­i­fied students a chance to reach out to those in need, and find a passion for help­ing the community. 

WHAT IS THE FRENCH HONOR SOCIETY?

The French Honor Soci­ety (FHS), is an honor soci­ety focused on foster­ing and encour­ag­ing the study of the French language and culture. Qual­i­fi­ca­tions to join the Honor Soci­ety include two full years of French with a grade of A- or better and a mini­mum 3.0 GPA in all other course­work. Not only does involve­ment in the Honor Soci­ety offer work­shop oppor­tu­ni­ties and extra assis­tance with class mate­r­ial, it  provides several service oppor­tu­ni­ties for students to partic­i­pate in. Eliz­a­beth Buffen­barger, French Language Teacher and FHS Advi­sor, intro­duced the Ronald McDon­ald House to the Honor Soci­ety several years ago, but follow­ing a lull in activ­ity due to COVID, Buffen­barger empha­sizes the level of commit­ment the club has shown this year. 

WHAT IS THE RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE?

The Ronald McDon­ald House is a nonprofit orga­ni­za­tion that supports parents and fami­lies of hospi­tal­ized chil­dren or chil­dren under­go­ing treat­ment. “We believe that when a child is sick, the entire family needs comfort and support. We provide a “home away from home” for fami­lies whose child is receiv­ing medical care, complete with ameni­ties such as meals, activ­i­ties, laun­dry services, and trans­porta­tion, all at no cost to our fami­lies,” states Sarah Camp­bell, Commu­nity and Volun­teer Engage­ment Manager RMHC. 

Collab­o­ra­tion between these two orga­ni­za­tions began a few years back, after Buffen­barger found a passion for the program through Kohl’s Care. “We got involved with it [RMHC] many years ago…but then COVID came, so every­thing stopped,” Buffen­barger shares, “But this year, we’re really even more on board.” 

Buffen­barger further empha­sizes the impor­tance of creat­ing a mind­set that “this world is not just about Us.”

“It’s about reach­ing out to those that really need it, find­ing a passion for it,” she adds.

Not only do these service oppor­tu­ni­ties provide a chance for personal growth and explo­ration, volun­teer­ing is incred­i­bly impor­tant for the survival of non-profit orga­ni­za­tions. “Volun­teers are absolutely vital to the success of these events, which ensures that we can continue to serve our fami­lies day in and day out,” explains Campbell.

Further­more, she notes that volun­teer collab­o­ra­tions offer bene­fits to both the volun­teers and receivers. “It takes a village to keep our Ronald McDon­ald Houses running ²⁴⁄₇, 365 days a year and the French Honor Soci­ety is an impor­tant part of that ‘village’! It is my hope that French Honor Soci­ety students feel satis­fac­tion and accom­plish­ment in know­ing that they are support­ing fami­lies in need.”