Every year the DQ brand raises millions for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN Hospitals) during its annual Miracle Treat Day event. For that transformational fundraising initiative, the DQ system was recognized with the Corporate Social Responsibility Award in the CSR Event category by industry publication PR Daily.
PR Daily’s Corporate Social Responsibility Awards celebrate teams, organizations and consultants who have redefined the field with their groundbreaking work. The DQ system joins an elite group of past winners, including Alex + Ani, International Paper, St. Joseph’s Health, Bayer Crop Science, Mastercard, Arrow Electronics, Alliance Data, Viacom, U.S. Bank, and Toronto Pearson Airport.
“The DQ system set themselves apart from an outstanding field of applicants. Their work was exceptional and displayed their innovative strategies for achieving success,” says Brendan Gannon, marketing manager for awards programs at Ragan Communications, which runs PR Daily. “Congratulations, DQ. We look forward to your continued success.”
On Miracle Treat Day, one of the largest single day fundraising events of the year for CMN Hospitals, one dollar or more from every Blizzard Treat sold at participating independently-owned DQ locations throughout the U.S. and Canada goes directly to the non-profit organization, providing support to children and families at local hospitals across the country.
The award was presented to the DQ brand specifically for the ingenuity and impact of Miracle Treat Day 2018 when the brand enlisted the help of one very special CMN Hospital pediatric patient Teddy Moore, who became honorary Chief Blizzard Officer of DQ. In his role as Chief Blizzard Officer, Moore spread the word about how funds raised by DQ fans and franchisees help kids just like him. A light-hearted documentary about Moore’s day as Chief Blizzard Officer at DQ headquarters was produced to introduce audiences to one of the DQ brand’s biggest fans, who also is a CMN Hospital patient directly impacted by donations made on Miracle Treat Day.
The documentary, along with other content, including boomerangs, photos and point of sale signage in DQ stores, led the brand to raise more than $4 million in one day to fund critical treatments and lifesaving healthcare services; pediatric medical equipment, as well as facilities to ease stressful situations for kids, such as rooms designed to look like an undersea adventure land or a spaceship; and charitable care to help save and improve the lives of children in local communities nationwide.
“We are so honored to receive this award in partnership with a wonderful organization like Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals,” says Maria Hokanson, executive vice president of Marketing for American Dairy Queen Corporation (ADQ). “We share this award with Teddy, our franchisees and DQ fans everywhere who join us in making Miracle Treat Day so meaningful year after year.”
As a national partner of CMN Hospitals for 35 years, the DQ brand has raised nearly $150 million for local children’s hospitals in the U.S. and Canada, where 10 million children are treated annually.
