A new student organization plans to give hope to extremely ill children in Oklahoma by volunteering.

The OU Loves the Ronald McDonald House group organizes OU students to volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House in Oklahoma City. The group was founded at the beginning of the spring semester.

The Ronald McDonald House is a place for families with critically ill children to stay when they travel for medical treatments.

“Basically [the Ronald McDonald House] is cheaper than a hotel, and if they can’t pay anything at all they don’t have to [pay] because it is run off donations,” said Chloe Williams, a linguistics junior and the group’s founder.

When Williams was younger, she experienced a serious illness and stayed in Ronald McDonald Houses while undergoing treatments.

“The volunteers there had a big impact on me during that time,” Williams said.

Williams’ friend, Heather Ping, sociology and criminology senior, said she joined the group because she saw the impact the organization made in Williams’ life.

“Now that this group has been founded and Chloe is working with them so we can do work for them, I plan on helping as much as possible,” Ping said.

Other members of the group want to volunteer because of similar personal experiences with Ronald McDonald Houses.

“I joined the organization because one of my friends had an adopted younger sister who had a serious medical condition that she needed surgery for and the Ronald McDonald House really helped support their family,” said Melinda Fuson, linguistics and Latin sophomore.

“So I knew that this was a worthwhile cause to support.”

Among its 52 houses around the world, the Ronald McDonald House Charities help more than 10,000 families daily, and in 2007, the organizations helped save more than $226 million in hotel costs, according to its official Web site.

Williams said the volunteers perform small but important tasks such as cooking, cleaning and talking with the children.

Ping and Williams said they wanted to make the children’s stays in the house positive experiences.

“I have hopes that our work will encourage others to help with the house or even with another organization,” Ping said.

Williams said she thought students interested in working with kids or entering the medical field would enjoy volunteering at the House. Williams said interested students may join the Facebook group to stay informed about future events.

The OU group’s first event is scheduled for Feb. 27.