Photo Caption: Dunkin’ Vermont Franchisee Ari Souliotis and Vermont Donut Enterprises Marketing Director Theresa Fletcher recently visited The University of Vermont Children’s Hospital to celebrate raising $15,000 on Dunkin’ Iced Coffee Day in May. Pictured, left to right, are Jennifer Eddy, UVMCH Child Life Specialist; Fletcher, Dr. Lewis First, UVMCH Chief of Pediatrics; Souliotis, Chelsie Lang, UVMCH Child Life Specialist; and Ann Fogel, UVMCH Child Life Specialist. Credit: The University of Vermont Children’s Hospital.
Sip, Sip, Hooray! Dunkin’® Iced Coffee Day Raises $15,000 throughout Vermont to Bring Joy to The University of Vermont Children's Hospital; partnership funding reaches $100,000 milestone
Dunkin’ Iced Coffee Day raises $1.8 million nationwide to support children’s hospitals through the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation®
Vermont Business Magazine This past May, the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation called on America to sip from their hearts on Dunkin’ Iced Coffee Day and help bring joy to kids in local hospitals across the country.
Dunkin’ of Vermont and northern New York is proud to announce that $15,000 will be granted locally to The University of Vermont Children’s Hospital (UVMCH) in Burlington through the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation. Local Dunkin’ franchisees have now given $100,000 to UVMCH since the start of the Iced Coffee Day partnership with the hospital eight years ago.
Thanks to support from guests nationwide, the 2022 Dunkin’ Iced Coffee Day collectively raised $1.8 million to support kids in children’s hospitals throughout the country.
As part of the program in May, Dunkin’ invited guests to have their iced coffee work double duty to both fuel their “go” and bring joy to kids battling illness in their communities. On May 25, $1 from every iced coffee purchased at participating Dunkin’ restaurants nationwide supported the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation’s mission to bring joy to kids battling illness. Thanks to the generosity of Dunkin’ franchisees across the country, 100 percent of the funds raised will be granted locally to children’s hospitals in their respective communities.
Dunkin’ Vermont Franchisee Ari Souliotis and Vermont Donut Enterprises Marketing Director Theresa Fletcher recently visited UVMCH to celebrate the local grant of $15,000 and the partnership $100,000 milestone. They presented a ceremonial grant check to Dr. Lewis First, UVMCH Chief of Pediatrics; and UVMCH Child Life Specialists Chelsie Lang, Ann Fogel, and Jennifer Eddy.
See a check presentation image link below.
The Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation will award more than 80 local grants stemming from Dunkin’ Iced Coffee Day to children’s hospitals to support initiatives that help bring joy to patients. Throughout the country, grant funding will help enhance child life programming spanning from art, music and integrated therapy programs, including yoga and reiki, to electronic gaming equipment and specialized summer camps that provide joyful experiences and environments for patients and their families.
Funds will also support interactive play and learning equipment, adaptive equipment for kids with mobility issues, everyday essential kits for patients, wall murals, hosting celebratory events for patient milestones, staffing of child life specialists and more. Difficult or unexpected events like surgery, illness, and hospitalization can be challenging for kids to process. These programs help to normalize the hospital experience and provide comfort and support needed for recovery.
"It's so amazing to see the outpouring of support from our guests to help make a difference for these kids,” said Souliotis. “As Dunkin’ franchisees, it is so important for us to give back to the communities we serve and show them we are here to keep them running beyond their daily Dunkin’ run. We know that when children are faced with extreme hardship like battling a severe illness, it can rob them of the joys of childhood. We choose to support our local hospital partners throughout the country to help them create joyful experiences that allow their patients to still be kids.”
Since its inception in 2006, the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation has granted more than $37 million to national and local nonprofits. In 2021, the Foundation awarded 171 grants to hospitals and other nonprofits to help bring joy to kids battling illness.
To learn more about the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation, visit www.bringjoy.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
About Dunkin'®
Founded in 1950, Dunkin' is America's favorite all-day, everyday stop for coffee and baked goods. Dunkin' is a market leader in the hot regular/decaf/flavored coffee, iced regular/decaf/flavored coffee, donut, bagel and muffin categories. Dunkin' has earned a No. 1 ranking for customer loyalty in the coffee category for 16 years running. The company has more than 12,600 restaurants in 40 countries worldwide. Dunkin' is part of the Inspire Brands family of restaurants. For more information, visit www.DunkinDonuts.com.
About the Dunkin’® Joy in Childhood Foundation®
The Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation, the charitable foundation supported by Dunkin’, provides the simple joys of childhood to kids battling hunger or illness. The Foundation partners with food banks, children’s hospitals and nonprofit organizations to fund joyful environments and joyful experiences for kids when they need it most. Since 2006, the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation has granted more than $37 million to hundreds of national and local charities across the country thanks to the generosity of its franchisees, guests, vendor partners and employees. For more information, please visit www.bringjoy.org.