SASKATOON The Ronald McDonald House in Saskatoon is not letting a global pandemic stand in the way of fulfilling its mission of helping Saskatchewan families with sick children. “What I see in my colleagues is a common desire to have an impact in our community,” explained Director of Human Resource Development Kim Gilbert. The House was forced to close when COVID-19 arrived in Saskatoon. In June of 2020, the organization did a soft launch where 12 of 34 rooms were made available to families from across the province. “We ran the gambit of families that were like, ‘oh good, now we can stay,’ to families that were like, ‘communal living environment, not sure I want to go there,” explained CEO Tammy Forrester. “I would say our slow opening allowed for some people to feel like it was safe for them. So they knew that it was a 34 room house but only 12 families were here.”