SMU graduate student Meredith Minister participates in decorating clay pots with six-year-old Leukemia patient Thomas Thompson during crafting time at the Ronald McDonald House in Dallas Thursday evening. (MICHAEL DANSER/The Daily Campus)

The air was filled with the smell of Mexican food as SMU’s Graduate Women’s Organization (GWO) and Women in Engineering prepared chicken fajitas and potatoes at Dallas’ Ronald McDonald House Thursday evening.

Of the 175 houses in the United States, the Dallas house is the only house where volunteers come in and serve three meals a day to help families whose children are being treated nearby hospitals such as Children’s Medical Center and Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children.

Ruth Gilgenbach, chair of the GWO and a fifth year Ph.D. student in economics, has been helping the RMHD weekly since 2007 and decided that it would be a great place for GWO and Women in Engineering to volunteer.

“I picked it because I love it and I love kids,” she said.

The families staying at the house appreciate the time volunteers devote to cooking and serving meals.

Laura Eddings has been staying at the house since December while her almost 2-year-old daughter receives treatment for kidney cancer.

“I can relax a little bit and devote time to my daughter and not worry about cooking and cleaning,” Eddings said.

Tiffany Williams, who is staying at the house with her 9-year-old daughter, said she feels encouraged by the volunteers’ smiling faces.

After dinner, children were invited to sit at tables with pink, yellow and green table clothes and paint flowerpots.

“We wanted an activity kids of all different ages could do,” Gilgenbach said.

Eight-year-old Shania painted her flowerpot for her mother while 6-year-old Thomas was deciding between giving his to his grandmother or keeping it for himself.

Thomas’s father, Kelly Thompson, likes that the Ronald McDonald House offers activities like craft night to take children’s minds off of treatment.

“I like that he gets to go somewhere and not think about what’s happening tomorrow,” Thompson said.

Both the volunteers and the families relaxed and enjoyed the evening.

Sophia Basiliadis, an undergraduate film major, wanted a break from school and decided she would spend her evening volunteering.

“I have a feeling I’ll go home and feel really nice,” she said.

Meredith Faber, a member of GWO, wanted to support Gilgenbach’s passion for the Ronald McDonald House.

“She really has a passion for this,” Faber said. “I’m really glad to have this opportunity.”

Dallas’ Ronald McDonald House, which is located on Bengal Street, opened in 1981 and has served more than 28,000 families.

(MICHAEL DANSER/The Daily Campus)