Cones for the Cure

This blog is typically limited to tea. Occasionally, I’ll post guest entries, and for a good cause, I’ll write something up for a charity I support. In the past, this has been for Charity:Water or other globally beneficial charities with low-cost overhead—ensuring donated funds go to their mission and not their staff or executives.

Cones for the Cure sample spoons and coupon booklet.

I’d like to draw your attention to Cones for the Cure, a charity collaboration between Cincinnati-based Graeter’s Ice Cream and a children’s cancer foundation called The Cure Starts Now.

Cones for the Cure starts on September 8th, 2016, and runs through September 18th—a great ten-day event designed to raise both funds and awareness for children’s cancer research. In 2015, the annual event raised just under $100,000 USD for children’s cancer research, and their goal for 2016 is to surpass that.

In 2008, Graeter’s participated in a separate event with The Cure Starts Now, where the grand prize was the opportunity to create an ice cream blend that Graeter’s would then sell in their scoop shops, with proceeds benefiting charity. The winner of that contest created what’s come to be known as Elena’s Blueberry Pie Ice Cream, and it is a serious treat. The flavor proved to be so popular that it’s been brought back every year since and is a perennial favorite of mine on their menu.

Colored name sheets for donating to Cones for the Cure!

During the event period, anyone who visits a Graeter’s scoop shop can choose to sponsor a paper sheet:

• $1 USD donation: Receives a pink sheet where the purchaser can write their name or the name of someone they know who is struggling with or has survived cancer.
• $5 USD donation: Receives a purple sheet for their name or loved one plus a coupon booklet worth $20 USD in Graeter’s ice cream and candies. There’s even a coupon for a free single scoop cone right on the first page.

Graeter’s is offering TWO free scoop days this year, where they will be giving away Elena’s Blueberry Pie ice cream. The first free scoop day is on September 8th, 2016, and the second date will be announced later.

Visit Graeter’s.com to see if you have a scoop shop near you or to place a supporting order online!