Moosomin DQ sells 7,880 blizzards, raises $41,210 on Miracle Treat Day
August 18, 2025, 8:35 am
Ryan Kiedrowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Moosomin Dairy Queen smashed its goal of 6,000 blizzards, selling 7,880 blizzards and raising $41,210.18 on Miracle Treat Day last Thursday.
Last year DQ sold 5,118 blizzards and raised $27,746.21.
All money raised on Miracle Treat Day goes to the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation.
At first, the result was unbelievable for Moosomin DQ owner Joanne Kerr.
“It was very late at night, and I started to cry,” she said. “I thought I had to redo the numbers because I couldn’t believe that was right!”
Joanne says that they had been too busy to keep a tally during the day and didn’t start to look at totals until later.
“You wait until it’s all done, then it’s time to start looking at numbers, and I couldn’t believe it,” Joanne said. “I was sure that I had done something wrong. So I went through it twice, I went through it a third time, and it was the same all three times! I went to bed at about 2:30 in the morning, but I couldn’t sleep. I was up at 6 am and had to redo those numbers again just to make sure it was real.”
Moosomin DQ Manager Morgan Kerr’s initial reaction was disbelief at such high numbers.
“I didn’t look at the numbers until after closing, and when I looked at our total, and I looked at Heather and said, ‘did we mess this up? Like, did we do this wrong? What happened?’ she says. “Then we had to stay and balance, because I wouldn’t have slept. Sure enough, we balanced and it was real!
“We didn’t expect that,” Morgan said. “I thought our target of 6,000 was a push, but we need a goal, something to work towards. Getting up this morning after knowing the numbers, we’re already planning for next year and how we can change things and do things better.”
Having a dedicated, enthusiastic staff is a huge asset, and Morgan says the crew at the Moosomin DQ are more than up for the challenge on Miracle Treat Day.
“Definitely our team here, our staff are simply amazing,” Morgan said. “They’re incredible people and without them, we wouldn’t have been able to do all this.”
Joanne credits the record-setting success of this year’s campaign to getting boots on the ground not only in Moosomin, but in surrounding communities.
“Actually getting out there and meeting the people and letting them know was a big part of it,” Joanne explained. “There’s still a lot of people that aren’t aware of Miracle Treat Day and the involvement that Dairy Queen has.
Just letting them know what it’s all about and where the money actually goes to help all the children and the Jim Patterson Children’s Foundation and all the good things that they do.”
Morgan and Heather Kerr spent time going door to door at local businesses in some of the surrounding towns, asking for orders. Morgan says she was surprised by how many people simply did not realize the impact that Miracle Treat Day has for the children’s hospital.
“We thought getting a phone call from somebody saying, ‘I’m selling Blizzards, will you buy some, can I have your credit card number?’ might be a little weird,” she said, noting the importance of meeting in-person. “We spent two full days in Esterhazy just stopping in businesses and talking to people about what Miracle Treat Day was, and honestly, probably 75 per cent of the people—not just in Esterhazy, but the other communities we were in as well—had no idea what Miracle Treat Day was and what it was about.”
Pre-ordering Blizzards has been a big help as well, allowing the Moosomin location to prepare for large orders such as those from both the local Mosaic and Nutrien potash mines.
“We start about a week before, and Borderland Co-op is most generous in letting us use some of their freezer space,” Joanne explained. “We’ve had literally hundreds of milk crates filled with Blizzards starting the week before yesterday.”
Local dignitaries including Mayor Murray Gray and Moosomin-Montmarte MLA Kevin Weedmark were on-hand to help make Blizzards.
“We had a number of volunteers that have also been patients at the hospital in Saskatoon, which was really nice,” Joanne said. “It’s such a good feeling to know that you’re part of a great organization that helps brave kids when they need it the most.”
According to Morgan’s estimate, 50 volunteers helped with the campaign working in and out of the restaurant.
“The pharmacies—Kari’s Pharmacy and Moosomin Pharmasave—they were delivering Blizzards for us here in town,” she said. “We had drivers all over the place. We had three different drivers to Esterhazy—one to the mine and two to Esterhazy, Langenburg, and Churchbridge.”
Over $100,000 raised over five years
Moosomin DQ has raised over $100,000 over five years with Miracle Treat Day.
All of the money raised from Dairy Queen restaurants across the province stays in the province.
“One hundred per cent of the net proceeds from every Dairy Queen Blizzard stays here in Saskatchewan, so it goes to Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital and the kids and families who are staying there,” explained Michelle Busa, Communications Director with the JPCHF. “Last year, we raised $249,000 across those 53 locations, so a huge thank you to Dairy Queen for their partnership.”
Busa was once again bolstered by the support Miracle Treat Day has shown—especially as she got to see the faces of kids at the hospital light up during the special day.
“They’re amazing, and they give generously to the kids in hospital,” she said of Dairy Queen. “We just finished handing out a bunch of Blizzards to kids who are staying in hospital and are unable to leave today to get their ice cream treat.”
The money is placed in a general fund so the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation can devote the resources to a variety of needs.
“Every dollar goes towards supporting children and moms-to-be at Jim Patterson Children’s Hospital,” Busa said. “Last year, the hospital had 83,000 children and moms-to-be visit from across 575 Saskatchewan communities, so it truly is a provincial hospital, and is our province’s only maternal and paediatric specialized hospital, so it serves all four corners of the province.”
Even with the healthcare system in the province that covers a lot of costs, the funding need for hospitals is still strong.
“Saskatchewan pays for health care, but there’s a lot of things they can’t,” Morgan said. “There’s only so much money, and it helps buy life-saving equipment. It’s important to give back and give back to our communities. Now that we have the airport here in Moosomin, the air ambulance goes directly there (Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital).”
Over the past 23 years, Children’s Miracle Network Canada has been able to raise $54 million for children’s hospitals across the country.
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