Miracle Treat Day coming August 8
August 6, 2024, 10:10 am
Ashley Bochek
Moosomin Dairy Queen is gearing up to host another successful Miracle Treat Day this Thursday, August 8.
Owners, Morgan and Joanne Kerr say they have started prepping for the busy day and are excited to beat last year’s fundraising total.
“I think lots of people in the community have used the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital and if they haven’t used it personally they don’t have to look far to know somebody who has benefited from it,” Morgan said. “It is nice that the money stays as local as it can. It stays in Saskatchewan.”
Joanne says since the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital has been in Saskatoon they have seen an increase in support for Miracle Treat Day.
“It has made a big difference now that the hospital in Saskatoon is available. With the building of the hospital in Saskatchewan, there has been an absolute complete turnaround because all of us know a friend, a family member, a relative that has had to use that hospital and we’re just ever so lucky and fortunate to have it, so of course we just want to get behind it and support it. There are many people in our community here that have been able to use it and it has made a huge difference in their lives.”
Joanne says Miracle Treat Day has been a huge fundraising movement for years.
“Miracle Treat Day has been around for a long time. When the work was started on the children’s hospital in Saskatoon, then Dairy Queen actually separated it out and the money that is raised in the province stays in the province because now each province has its own children’s hospital.”
Goal for this year
Morgan says their Miracle Treat Day sales have continued to grow each year breaking fundraising goals.
“Last year, we raised $23,714. We sold 4,356 blizzards.”
“There is some interesting numbers when I speak of the enthusiasm that has been created since building the hospital,” Joanne said.
Morgan adds, “We have seen an increase in fundraising since. In 2020, we sold 1,088 blizzards for $2,700 and then in 2021 we sold 2,282 blizzards for $8,000 and then, in 2022 we sold 2,800 blizzards for $11,000 and then last year we sold even more. It just continues to grow.
“I look on Instagram and Facebook and see other Dairy Queens and their numbers. I know Edmonton for sure, Stollery Kids, which is a huge Miracle Treat Day supporter—it’s millions of dollars that they donate, but they have four stores and we beat three out of the four on our sales which is huge. Per capita it is unreal the amount that we are donating and we’ve got the attention of Dairy Queen for sure.”
“It’s just over $1.53 for every man, woman, and child living in Moosomin,” Joanne explained. “It is amazing. I can’t get over the sharing, the caring, the generosity, and the support that comes not only locally, but from the surrounding area.”
Morgan says she is setting a goal for this year’s blizzard sales. “My goal for this year is 5,000 blizzards so 700 more than last year. We already have Nutrien on board. They’re going to match our sales to 5,000 like they did last year, and the employees are going to buy blizzards as well.
Morgan says she contacts local community businesses for support on Miracle Treat Day.
“I bug everyone. I reach out to all businesses. Last year was the first time Nutrien matched our sales. I messaged Justin Young last year and he must have made it happen in the background because all of a sudden I got a call from the lady at Nutrien saying they would like to be a part of it. It was pretty quick.”
Delivering blizzards to surrounding communities
Moosomin Dairy Queen plans to deliver blizzards to Mosaic and Esterhazy again this year.
“We also have Mosaic on board and some businesses in Esterhazy,” Morgan said. “I know last year it was $6,100 that came in from Mosaic. The till tape was crazy long—the longest till tape we’ve ever seen.”
Morgan says she has reached out to Esterhazy people to help with delivering blizzards. “There is an RCMP officer there that I know, she is going to sell some of the blizzards there. Tara Stowe that works at Esterhazy Ford is going to be delivering to all the businesses. She is going to deliver to K3 mine for us too.
“We will contact Wawota again. Lana McCormac delivered to a nursing home there last year.”
Insanely busy day
Morgan says Miracle Treat Day is the busiest day all year and it is a lot of work to organize in advance. “I start now—two weeks before. From now until Miracle Treat Day I will be messaging and emailing people trying to get them on board and their orders in early. The earlier their order is in the easier it is for us to organize. We organize based on delivery times.”
Joanne adds, “We have already made changes to delivery schedules from our suppliers to accommodate for making the blizzards that day. We already have a lot of the stuff in the store like spoons and cups. It starts about three weeks prior to the date that we actually finalize these things.”
Morgan says she will be busy making blizzards days before August 8.
“I will start making blizzards three days before. Last year we were making blizzards for 12 hours a day.”
Blaze Dunn returning to Moosomin DQ for Miracle Treat Day
Blaze Dunn, a young boy from Carlyle helped make blizzards in Moosomin on Miracle Treat Day last year.
Dunn is a patient at Jim Pattison Chilren’s Hospital and was a representative of the hospital at Moosomin Dairy Queen .
“Blaze is also supposed to be coming again this year,” Joanne said. “It will be exciting to catch up with him. He is a patient at the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital and he came last year to help make blizzards and serve them. He is such a sweetheart.”
Morgan says a rep from the hospital called her last year about sending Blaze out.
“Last year we were busy and I was short staffed and thought let’s just let Miracle Treat Day happen. Then, there was a rep from the Jim Pattison Hospital that called and said because of our huge increase in sales—more than in some stores in Regina and Saskatoon—they wanted to send Blaze out. This year she gave us a call and said that she was interested in coming out and seeing what is going on and how we do it.”
Joanne says Blaze stopped in at both Moosomin and Carlyle Dairy Queens that day. “Blaze is from Carlyle so he visited us in the morning and then visited in Carlyle in the afternoon.”
Supportive community
Joanne and Morgan say the community is a big support in helping the Moosomin Dairy Queen excel on Miracle Treat Day.
“It’s the people,” Joanne said. “It is the generosity, the support, the sharing and caring. The community itself.
“You try to explain it to someone, but they can’t understand because until you actually experience it you have no idea. It is overwhelming the amount of support we get.
“Part of it is our heritage on the prairies. We have always had to support one another and this has just been extended. This community is amazing and has been all of the years I have been here.”
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