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Area Dairy Queens raise money for Akron Children’s Hospital
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Akron Children's Hospital development coordinator Kelsey Morton delivered T-shirts to the Cornersburg Dairy Queen that would be distributed to donors on Miracle Treat Day.
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Cornersburg and Canfield Dairy Queen owner Christine Smith displayed the back of the T-shirt that was similar to the ones distributed to people who donated money for Miracle Treat Day.
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Angela Carnevale of Philadelphia, Pa., posed with her Blizzard next to a sign promoting Miracle Treat Day. Carnevale was the first person at the Cornersburg Dairy Queen to donate to the event.
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Each employee at the Cornersburg and Canfield Dairy Queen locations were encouraged to wear a bracelet with the name of a child who's a patient at Akron Children's Hospital. Christine Smith displayed the bracelet she was wearing with the name of a child named Zion on it.
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Cornersburg and Canfield Dairy Queen owner Christine Smith posed in front of miracle balloons that had the names of people who donated money for Miracle Treat Day.
By TIM CLEVELAND
For another year, the Dairy Queen locations in Cornersburg and Canfield have stepped up and helped raise money for Akron Children’s Hospital. This year’s Miracle Treat Day was Aug. 14.
“It’s been every year since we’ve owned a Dairy Queen store, which is 23 years,” store owner Christine Smith said. “International Dairy Queen teams up with Children’s Miracle Network, but our local hospital has been Akron Children’s Hospital. Before that it was Tod Children’s, so we’ve been doing it ever since it was Tod Children’s.”
Dairy Queen locations all over the country participate in the fundraiser. Last year, the DQ stores in Mahoning, Trumbull, Lawrence, Mercer and Columbiana counties combined to raise $22,000 for the hospital, with the Cornersburg and Canfield locations leading the way with a combined $6,300, the most out of the 43 stores.
“It’s not really that hard to do it,” Smith said. “It takes a little bit of effort. Unfortunately, not everyone’s willing to put the effort in.”
The Cornersburg and Canfield locations raise money for the cause in several ways. They sell T-shirts with the Miracle Children’s Network logo on the back. There is also Bucks for Buckets, where the buckets that the stores’ strawberries come in are sold for a suggested donation of $1 per bucket. Each person who donates also gets their name written on a miracle balloon that is displayed in the store. If they do they get several dollars worth of coupons back. Customers also received a free dilly bar or free cone if an employee fails to ask to buy one.
Employees were encouraged to wear bracelets with the name of a child who is a patent at Akron Children’s Hospital written on it. Smith said this was to help them think about the children when they were raising funds.
Smith added that her DQ locations will be teamed up with the Radiothon to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network. The promotion will be Sept. 6-7 with bounce-arounds at both stores for a suggested donation of $1 and carnival games, as well. The money from that event will be presented during the Radiothon, which will be Sept. 16-18.
Smith said raising money for children goes hand in hand with the message she wants her Dairy Queens to put out.
“We cater to kids and families here at the Dairy Queen, so it’s a good fit,” she said. “No child is turned away at Akron Children’s Hospital for the inability to pay. I have four kids, myself, and been fortunate not to ever have to use the hospital.”