While many rang in the New Year at different parties or bars, one Brown Deer family spent it helping others in Milwaukee.

The Ronald McDonald House helps families who have children with serious medical conditions. The organization offers them a free stay while their child is in the hospital, but volunteers provide dinners.

Jackee Orozco cooked homemade chili with her family for a New Year’s Celebration at the Ronald McDonald House. Orozco paid for the meal out of pocket.

"Kids kind of pull at my heart strings," Orozco said. "They always have and the idea of a mother or father having to be away from their kids when they're facing something so scary. Ronald McDonald House fills that void."

Many families attended the dinner to end 2017 with a home cooked meal. More than 50 families are staying in Milwaukee's Ronald McDonald House. The Quinlan family is staying at the house while their daughter is in the hospital. 


"You need to get some food in you, but you've probably have been at the hospital all day, so you just look at them and all you can say is thank you," said Sean Quinlan.