Children's Miracle Network to Benefit From August Blizzards

Miss America Lauren Nelson named honorary spokesperson
of annual Dairy Queen® Miracle Treat Day

Minneapolis – When is a mass of summer blizzard activity throughout the United States and Canada a good forecast? On Thursday, August 9, because it’s not about the weather; it’s about helping kids in need. That’s the day Dairy Queen® will host the second annual North American "Miracle Treat Day" to benefit Children’s Miracle Network.

During Miracle Treat Day, participating Dairy Queen and DQ Grill & Chill® locations will donate proceeds from every Blizzard®sold to Children’s Miracle Network, a non-profit organization dedicated to saving and improving the lives of children by raising funds for children’s hospitals.

Miss America 2007, Lauren Nelson, a national goodwill ambassador for Children's Miracle Network, will serve as honorary spokesperson for Dairy Queen’s Miracle Treat Day. Nelson, an aspiring Broadway actor, is a student at the University of Central Oklahoma. Miss America titleholders have been involved with Children’s Miracle Network, visiting hospitals and helping with fund-raising activities, since 1989.

"With my love for children, I am proud to be spokesperson for Miracle Treat Day, as I know this event will do so much to help children all over North America," said Nelson.

Dairy Queen has been a supporter of Children’s Miracle Network since 1984, raising more than $59 million during that time.

"Miss America is such a positive role model and her visits are so inspiring to the children and adults she meets during her reign," said Michael Keller, chief brand officer for International Dairy Queen. "We are proud to have her as our honorary spokesperson. We set the stage last year with help from her predecessor Jennifer Berry when we raised more than $3.3 million during Miracle Treat Day. We look forward to topping that this year."

Instead of snow-filled blizzards, Dairy Queen will serve up a variety of Blizzard Flavour Treats during Miracle Treat Day including the August Blizzard of the Month, Oreo®. The Oreo Blizzard debuted in late 1985, the Blizzard’s inaugural year, and to this day remains the most popular Flavour.

About The Miss America Organization

The Miss America Organization is one of the nation’s leading achievement programs and the world¹s largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women.  Last year, the Miss America Organization and its state and local organizations made available more than $45 million in cash and scholarship assistance.  For more information, go to www.missamerica.org

About IDQ

International Dairy Queen (IDQ), which is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., develops licenses and services a system of more than 5,600 Dairy Queen restaurants in the United States, Canada and other foreign countries, offering dairy desserts, hamburgers, hot dogs and beverages. IDQ is part of the Berkshire Hathaway family, a company owned by Warren Buffett, the legendary investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.Following the successful roll out of DQ Grill & Chill, Dairy Queen’s quick-service food concept that features an all new expanded menu and newly designed restaurant interiors, Dairy Queen began testing the DQ Orange Julius® concept in August 2005. DQ Orange Julius blends a sleek, new look with the feel of a traditional ice cream treat shop and offers an expanded treat menu that includes traditional DQ favourites, the Orange Julius line of smoothies and fruit drinks, and new signature desserts and sundaes.

About Children's MIracle Network

Children's Miracle Network – the alliance of premier hospitals for children – is a non-profit organization dedicated to saving and improving the lives of children by raising funds for children's hospitals across North America.  Each year the 170 Children's Miracle Network hospitals provide the finest medical care, life-saving research and preventative education to help millions of kids overcome diseases and injuries of every kind.  For more information, visit www.childrensmiraclenetwork.org. 

Contacts

Dean Peters
Director of Communications
International Dairy Queen, Inc.
7505 Metro Blvd.
Minneapolis, MN 55439
Phone: 1 (952) 830-0204