Annual Quack Gives Back Fundraiser Will Benefit Over 50 Children’s Hospitals this Year
MECHANICSBURG, PA (August 31, 2022) – Beginning Sept. 1, select Duck Donuts locations are kicking off the company’s sixth annual Quack Gives Back Campaign supporting Gabe’s Chemo Duck Program, a Nashville-based nonprofit whose mission is to help alleviate fear and anxiety in children undergoing cancer treatment. Throughout the month, Duck Donuts’ invites guests to help provide huggable hope to families who are fighting childhood cancer by simply rounding up their change to the nearest dollar when they order in shop or donating one dollar or more when ordering online.
The Chemo Duck Program is a unique educational program that includes a 12-inch, soft “Chemo Duck” used for medical play therapy; a bilingual companion overview book; an activity book; and an educational DVD that includes a cartoon about the program.
"Gabe’s Chemo Duck Program is an outstanding and important resource for the brave, young children battling cancer,” said Betsy Hamm, CEO of Duck Donuts. “We are proud to continue supporting this wonderful organization for a sixth year and help provide huggable hope to the communities we serve.”
The campaign takes place each September during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and one hundred percent of donations will directly go support children’s hospitals in communities the franchise locations serve.* Over the past six years, the company’s generous guests have helped raise $260,000 to date.
“Our annual partnership with Duck Donuts allows us to further provide comfort to families dealing with childhood cancer through the Chemo Duck Program,” said Lu Sipos, founder and CEO of Gabe’s Chemo Duck Program. “Gabe and I are so grateful for the support we get from Duck Donuts, its franchise partners and their compassionate customers each year.”
ABOUT DUCK DONUTS
Duck Donuts opened its first locations in 2007 in the beach resort towns of Duck and Kitty Hawk, North Carolina with the intention to create an oasis for vacationers to enjoy warm, delicious, made-to-order donuts. Headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, the company began franchising in 2013, and prides itself on sprinkling happiness to its guests through its unique in-store experience, exceptional guest service and a duckzillion donut combinations. As one of the fastest-growing donut franchise companies, Duck Donuts has more than 100 locally owned and operated shops across 23 states, Puerto Rico and two international locations in Burlington, Ontario and Riyadh, KSA. For more information, visit www.duckdonuts.com.
ABOUT GABE’S CHEMO DUCK PROGRAM
Gabe’s Chemo Duck Program is a Nashville-based nonprofit organization established in 2004 to provide education and comfort to children living with cancer through medical play using therapeutic tools. The goal of the program is to enable hospital staff and parents to prepare children for chemotherapy treatment and eliminate the fear of the unknown.
Chemo Duck is a stuffed yellow duck dressed in blue hospital scrubs with a bandana around its head, a chemotherapy port on its chest and an immobilizer on his arm. In a gentle, age-appropriate manner, children learn what to expect during cancer treatment and have a friend to share the experience. In turn, children can use Chemo Duck to help friends, siblings and classmates to understand and empathize with their experience.
*Hospitals Supported
Phoenix Children's Hospital
Children's Health of Orange County
Loma Linda University Medical Center
Wolfson Children's Hospital
Golisano Children's Hospital of SW Florida
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
Dwaine & Cynthia Willett Children's Hospital of Savannah
Saint Luke's Cancer Institute - Boise
Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics
Norton Children's Hospital
John Hopkins University/Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center
Pediactic Oncology Branch National Cancer Institute
Skandalaris Family Center for Children with Cancer & Blood Disorders
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson University
St. Christopher's Hospital for Children
Hackensack University Medical Center
Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital
Stony Brook University Medical Center
Albany Medical Center
NYU Winthrop Hospital
Brenner Children's Hospital
Atrium Health Levine Children's Hospital
Duke University Medical Center
James and Connie Maynard Children's Hospital
Mission Hospital-Memorial Campus
UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
Cincinnati Children's Hospital
Dayton Children's Hospital
Nationwide Children's Hospital
Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital
Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron
Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC
Lehigh Valley Hospital
Nemours DuPont
Penn State Children's Hospital
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
San Jorge Children's Hospital
University Pediatric Hospital
Bi-Lo Children’s Cancer Center at Greenville Memorial Hospital
Children's Hospital of Greenville Health System
Medical University of South Carolina
Palmetto Health
Carolinas Medical Center
TC Thompson in Chattanooga
Vanderbilt Children's Hospital
Dells Children's Medical Center
Methodist Children's Hospital of South Texas
Riverton Hospital
Carilion Clinic
Children's Hospital-King's Daughters
University of Virginia Children's Hospital