Community Spotlight: Our Roseville and Rancho Cordova Teams Support the Sacramento Ronald McDonald House

At Inszone Insurance Services, we believe that investing in our local communities is just as important as the work we do in the office. Through our Charitable Time Off (CTO) program, Inszone employees are given paid time off to volunteer and support the non-profit organizations that mean the most to them. This month, we are proud to highlight the team behind a months-long donation drive for the Sacramento Ronald McDonald House!

The Ronald McDonald House acts as a home away from home for families with seriously ill or injured children. The organization provides housing, meals, and support services so parents and families can stay close to medical care and focus on healing. Houses are located within walking distance of major hospitals, and families are given everything from hot dinners and pantry items to gas cards, toiletries, and counseling, all without being asked for funds.

The effort began about three months before the delivery date. Tammy Armitstead called the Sacramento Ronald McDonald House to ask what items they needed and gained approval to donate. The house asked for prepackaged pantry items and travel-size toiletries. From there, Tammy and her team announced the donation drive across the Roseville and Rancho Cordova offices, collecting non-perishable food, toiletries, toothbrushes, and other personal care items from both locations, with team members also shopping out of their own budgets to fill the boxes. On September 18th, the group loaded a truck and delivered everything to the house in person.

Tammy led the drive from the first phone call through delivery. Andrew Brito helped brainstorm the idea with the team and provided collection bins along with his own donations. Jonathan Hernandez helped promote the organization throughout both offices, then organized the items that had accumulated over the months and joined the delivery run to Sacramento. Naomi Salazar gathered an assortment of items families could use and joined her colleagues in delivering them to the house.

For Tammy, this cause is deeply personal. In 2019, her grandson Kaleb was born three months premature with many medical conditions and was not expected to live. Her family was struggling to cover gas, food, and lodging while her daughter stayed at the hospital around the clock and her son-in-law kept working and commuting. The Ronald McDonald House stepped in and carried them for three months, providing food, shelter, gas cards, counseling, and a shoulder to cry on, and never asking for a dollar in return. Kaleb has since passed away, and Tammy took on this drive in his memory.

Her story is what moved the rest of the team to get involved.

“I was immediately moved by her story and motivated to assist her in helping out this generous organization,” Naomi shared. “The message and cause is simple: caring for families going through a difficult time and facilitating their lives so they can focus on what’s important, their children.”

“The organization means a lot to her and we’re wanting to help support her,” Jonathan added.

“As a father myself, I understand how important the health and well-being of children are and how important help can be during serious circumstances,” Andrew said.

We are incredibly proud of this team for turning a personal experience into months of collective effort on behalf of families going through the hardest days of their lives. Thank you all for representing Inszone’s core values and giving back to an organization that gave so much!

If you are an Inszone employee interested in participating in the CTO program, please contact HR to learn more about how you can get involved.