Shannon Gowan Works to Change Children’s Lives for the Better
By Janna Zepp | Photo by Justin Borja
There is a saying often attributed to Forest Witcraft, that says, “A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove… but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.”
Shannon Gowan is the embodiment of that quote.
Gowan had been a school teacher some time before becoming the first Director of Communications and Media Relations for the City of Temple, a position she held for 13 years. She said that while she loved her job with the city, she still felt the call to help children. Already a part of the Temple Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and a Temple School Board Member for District 6, she answered the call to keep making a difference in the lives of children by accepting the job of Executive Director of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Temple last November.
“I’ve had some great and interesting positions with several great organizations, and I loved creating the Communications and Media Relations program for the city. But nothing recharges me quite like working with and for kids. I think that’s because I have been a teacher and I really loved that.”
Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) is an American independent nonprofit organization whose stated mission is to create, find, and support programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children. Ronald McDonald Houses provide a place to stay for families with hospitalized children under 21 years of age, who are being treated at nearby hospitals and medical facilities. Ronald McDonald’s Houses provide over 7,200 bedrooms to families around the world each night, with an estimated value of $700 million in lieu of hotel costs.
Gowan says that since opening in September 1986, the Temple Ronald McDonald House has hosted more than 15,000 families from 45 states, plus Canada, Australia, Germany, Italy, Kosovo, Mexico, Spain and Venezuela. Temple RMH is the 91st house to open and their Ronald McDonald Family Room at Baylor Scott & White’s McLane’s Children’s Hospital was the 172nd to open out of all the current RMHC houses.
The Temple RMH, located at 2415 S. 47th St., has 18 bedrooms with private baths and televisions. There are two double kitchens that families may use to make their own meals. Some days, meals are prepared by Friends of the House, a volunteer group associated with RMHC.
“Our guests love those days when they come in from a long day at the hospital and smell a home-cooked meal,” Gowan says. “It’s the smell of home and comfort, making a difficult day a little easier.”
There are now 377 Ronald McDonald Houses in 45 countries and regions, and 263 Ronald McDonald Family Rooms — a place for families to rest and regroup at hospitals — in 28 countries and regions. Referrals are not based on money, but distance from home and the seriousness of the child’s illness.
Temple’s RMH has been closed since last summer because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so it has been quiet for Gowan and the RMHC staff.
She says it has given her a chance to really take time to get to know her new position, but she is really looking forward to reopening as soon as it is safe for everyone to be social again.
“A house is not a home without families in it. I am so looking forward to the noise and happy chaos of kids and their parents,” Gowan says. “It’s getting time to be a home again, and I can’t wait to see them when they get here.”
