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August 18, 2016 · 0 Comments
Thousands of local residents treated themselves to a Blizzard at the Dairy Queen in Orangeville last Thursday, with all the money going to support of the Hospital for Sick Children.
August 11 was Miracle Treat Day at Dairy Queens, with proceeds from every Blizzard sold at the participating locations across the country being donated to the local Children’s Miracle Network member hospitals.
However, the restaurants in Orangeville and Tottenham went a step further, with all sales of Blizzards (not just the proceeds) going to Sick Kids, the local Children’s Miracle Network member hospital.
John Lockyer, owner of the Orangeville and Tottenham Dairy Queens, said Miracle Treat Day is important for many reasons.
“A hospital is something that touches every single person in our community,” he said, adding that it’s a place you hope you never need to go, but are glad that it’s there if you do. “Because kids are so important to us, we want to make sure they’re looked after. It’s very important that we support the hospitals.”
While the final numbers are not in yet, Mr. Lockyer reported that just shy of 5,500 Blizzards were sold at the Orangeville location and he is confident that they will surpass last year’s total of $55,000 raised in support of Sick Kids.
“People are so generous,” he said. “We are absolutely blown away by the support this community has given us.”
On-hand for Miracle Treat Day at the Orangeville location was the Bernier family from Newmarket. Their son Hartley has been a patient at the hospital since the day he was born, explained his father Daniel. Hartley has been a Sick Kids ambassador for the past three years.
“He has had 14 surgeries and continues to receive care there,” said Daniel. “This is our way of making his illness something positive but also giving back to the hospital which gives us so much care and support.”
Since the partnership between Dairy Queen and Children’s Miracle Network began in 1984, Dairy Queen has become a top contributor with more than $115 million raised to date in support of sick and injured children across North America.
Every minute, 62 children enter a Children’s Miracle Network member hospital for treatment in Canada. In 2015, Sick Kids managed 29,634 clinic visits of patients from the Peel region.