Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation awards $41K to Capital Region non-profits
ALBANY, N.Y. » The Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation recently announced that $41,000 is being awarded to three Capital Region non-profits — the Bernard & Millie Duker Children’s Hospital at Albany Med; the Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region, Inc. in Ballston Spa; and the Franklin Community Center, Inc. in Saratoga Springs — through its recent Iced Coffee Day and July of Joy summer grant cycle initiatives.
This past May, the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation called on America to sip from their hearts on Dunkin’ Iced Coffee Day and help bring joy to kids in local hospitals across the country.
Earlier this month, Dunkin’ franchisees in Albany announced that $20,000 will be granted locally to the Bernard & Millie Duker Children’s Hospital at Albany Med through the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation. Thanks to support from guests nationwide, Dunkin’ Iced Coffee Day collectively raised $1.8 million to support kids in children’s hospitals throughout the country.
The Bernard & Millie Duker Children’s Hospital treats all patients, regardless of their family’s ability to pay, and this grant will help sustain the hospital’s programs and services.
“We are very grateful for the generosity of Dunkin’ and its customers as they continue to support our pediatric teams, as well as our patients and their families,” said Barbara Ostrov, MD, chief of service at the Bernard & Millie Duker Children’s Hospital at Albany Med, in a press release. “The support we receive helps us to provide high-quality care to our region’s children.”
The Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation also announced today that an additional $10,000 is being granted to the Bernard & Millie Duker Children’s Hospital to bring further health relief to kids in Albany, as well as $6,000 to the Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region, Inc. and $5,000 to the Franklin Community Center, Inc. to bring hunger relief to kids in the Capital Region.
This month, the foundation celebrates its July of Joy summer grant cycle, which includes $894,000 in grants to 86 health and hunger relief-based nonprofits nationwide.
With this grant, the Bernard & Millie Duker Children’s Hospital will be able to purchase multisensory equipment, which helps children with multisensory disorders manage stress and discomfort by creating a sanctuary where they can control, manipulate or reduce stimulation. The Community Foundation of the Greater Capital Region, Inc. will use its grant to provide nutritious weekend meals for students who may otherwise go without through Scottie’s Backpack Program at the Ballston Spa Central
School District, and the Franklin Community Center, Inc. will use its funds to provide monthly assistance packages to its clients which include food items, hygiene products, laundry products, baking supplies, pet food and household cleaning supplies.
“When children are faced with extreme hardship like battling a severe illness, it robs them of the joys of childhood. It was amazing to see the outpouring of support from our guests on Iced Coffee Day to help make a difference for these kids,” Capital Region Dunkin’ franchisee Kevin Wright said in the release. “As Dunkin’ franchisees, it is so important for us to give back to the communities we serve and show them we are here to keep them running beyond their daily Dunkin’ run, and the additional July of Joy grant from Dunkin’s Joy in Childhood Foundation will only further our commitment to children in the community. We are thrilled to support our local hospital and non-profit partners throughout the Capital Region.”
Since its inception in 2006, the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation has granted more than $40 million to national and local nonprofits.
More information about the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation is available online at www.bringjoy.org.