Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio and Anthony-Thomas Candy Company Announce New Chocolate Bar Keeping Families Close®

May 30, 2023 –Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio is excited to announce the release of its first ever Ronald McDonald House Chocolate Bar, thanks to the generous support of local, family owned and operated Anthony-Thomas Candy Company. This new partnership means Anthony-Thomas Chocolates will be donating 50 cents from each candy bar sale of the RMHC-branded candy bar every summer to RMHC of Central Ohio.

“We’re very excited to partner with such a well-known, family-oriented organization like Ronald McDonald House Charities,” said Nick Trifelos, marketing specialist for Anthony-Thomas Candy Company and a fifth-generation member of the Central Ohio candy family. “The kids and families at the House are so strong and resilient, and we are honored to help Keep Families Close one chocolate bar at a time,” he added using the RMHC-branded bars’ new tag line.

The first Ronald McDonald House Chocolate Bars will be available for purchase at this year’s first Food Truck Friday at the Ronald McDonald House, June 2, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. The NACHO Street Band, a band organized by employees at Nationwide Children’s Hospital which has been fundraises for RMHC, will be there to herald this special occasion. The RMHC chocolate bars will then be available for purchase during every Food Truck Friday at the House in June and July, and during all regular store hours at the 13 Anthony-Thomas Candy stores throughout Central Ohio in June and July for just $1.00. Those who can’t make it to the House or to a store can even order the candy bars in bulk online at Anthony-Thomas.com/….

RMHC of Central Ohio CEO and Executive Director, Dee Anders, said “we couldn’t be more excited to partner with a family-owned, local company because that’s what we’re all about here at the Ronald McDonald House…families helping families. We are truly honored Anthony-Thomas has chosen to support families of seriously-ill children who need a home-away-from-home while their child is being treated in the hospital. As they say, chocolate is love. This is the house that love built. And Anthony-Thomas Chocolates will be helping us continue to build on that love into the future.”

People interested in learning more about this partnership and the new Ronald McDonald House Chocolate Bar, to “Keep Families Close one chocolate bar at a time” are encouraged to visit RMHC-CentralOhio.org/ChocolateBar

About Anthony-Thomas Candy Company

Anthony-Thomas Candy Co. is the one of largest family-owned-and-operated candy companies in the Midwest. Over 200 people are employed in the factory, office, warehouse, and retail stores. Besides manufacturing candy for its retail outlets, the company produces for its wholesale, fund-raising, and contract-manufacturing divisions. On the average, about 60,000 pounds are produced on two shifts daily with the company planning to expand its retail and wholesale divisions. Anthony-Thomas’ success spans 5 generations with an accumulation of over 185 years of experience between the family!

About Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio

The Ronald McDonald House of Central Ohio is located directly across the street from Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Open 365 days a year, the Ronald McDonald House is a home-away-from-home for families with seriously ill children receiving treatment in the hospital. The House offers comfortable bedrooms with private baths, continuing care suites for recovering transplant patients, fully equipped kitchens and dining areas, play rooms, laundry facilities, a meditation room, exercise room and informal gathering areas. In addition, RMHC of Central Ohio operates two Ronald McDonald Family Rooms; one at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital, and the other at the Big Lots Behavioral Health Pavilion at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. RMHC is proud to partner with Nationwide Children’s Hospital to operate a Ronald McDonald Care Mobile.

Since 1982, the Ronald McDonald House in Columbus, Ohio has provided one million nights of rest for families of seriously ill, hospitalized children. In order to serve even more families at the House, RMHC of Central Ohio has embarked on the largest expansion project in our history – a transformational campaign to provide a million more nights of rest for families when they need it most. This project will include:

• An additional 84 guest rooms to accommodate more families
• New community rooms, expanded kitchen and dining, and green space for families
• Necessary renovations to the existing structure

With the expansion RMHC will be equipped to serve an additional 2,000 families each year, increasing the families served annually to 6,500. Without the services RMHC provides, the families who rely on RMHC for housing and food will be forced to pay an average of $100 a night for local accommodations as well as an average of $20 per person, per day, to feed three meals. Therefore, the total annual savings to families after the expansion will be approximately $14,200,000.

To learn more, visit RMHC-CentralOhio.org.