IHOP announced that its restaurants nationwide will celebrate National Pancake Day on February 23, 2010 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., offering a free short stack of its buttermilk pancakes to each guest. In exchange for the free flapjacks, IHOP will ask guests to consider making a voluntary contribution to Children’s Miracle Network or other local charities.

The 2010 event will mark IHOP’s fifth year of offering free pancakes on National Pancake Day. To date, the company has raised more than $3.25 million for Children’s Miracle Network and other local charities nationwide through the family-friendly National Pancake Day philanthropic effort. This year, IHOP hopes to reach a milestone by raising a cumulative total of $5 million in five years and has set the 2010 National Pancake Day fundraising goal at $1.75 million.