Weekly night drives out to the local Dairy Queen for a Blizzard Treat with her mom, dad, and golden retriever in tow, and sitting in the bed of her dad’s truck was one of former Olympic gold-medalist Shawn Johnson East’s favorite childhood memories.
“I grew up on Blizzards,” she said. “Oreo Blizzard Treats are the best, and I don’t think I ever grew out of that childhood obsession.”
Her fixation with Dairy Queen’s Oreo Blizzard matches her obsession with the brand’s campaign partnership with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, Miracle Treat Day.
What is Miracle Treat Day?
Starting in 2006, Miracle Treat Day is Dairy Queen’s annual fundraising event where profits from Blizzard Treat sales go towards funding the needs of hospitals within Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. For instance, in the past, Miracle Treat Day has been able to help build a state-of-the-art therapy pool at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare in St. Paul, MN, and upgraded technology services for children to unwind after treatments and connect with their family at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, WI.
To participate in Miracle Treat Day, customers can visit their local participating Dairy Queen, and buy a Blizzard on Thursday, July 25. On that Thursday, Dairy Queen will donate a dollar or more from every Blizzard sold to Children’s Miracle Network.
This isn’t the only way to participate. Customers can also pre-order Blizzard Treats on July 25 by completing a form on their website or app as well as donating here.
How Shawn Johnson East started working with Miracle Treat Day.
This year marks Johnson East’s second consecutive year working with Miracle Treat Day as a campaign ambassador. Throughout this time, she has traveled around the country, advocating for Miracle Treat Day and visiting children’s hospitals to get a personal look at the impact the partnership between Dairy Queen and Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals has had on the lives of patients and their families.
“Being able to see companies like Dairy Queen give back to the community is really special because it makes it more meaningful. To see them do something so generous, it makes that soft serve, that Blizzard Treat more meaningful,” she said.
East is a very family-oriented person as anyone can see on any of her socials, which is why it has greatly impacted her decision to join Miracle Treat Day.
“I’m a momma of three babies — I’ve been in these hospitals. I have done emergency room visits late at night with busted lips, faces, stitches, sickness, and illness. I’ve gone on tours before across the country visiting pediatric units and cancer patients, and I’ve seen how much support Children’s Miracle Network has given a lot of these families.” Johnson East continued. “I know having been a parent in these hospitals before, your lifeline is those around you, the community, the people like Dairy Queen and Children’s Miracle Network who are supporting you.”
What food means to Shawn Johnson East.
Like her family night trips to Dairy Queen and the reason why she has chosen to be a Miracle Treat Day ambassador, East views food as an important piece of familial memory-making.
“It’s a core of a lot of memories — your dinner table every night, going to Dairy Queen, traveling the world and trying new things,” Johnson East said. “It’s a source of conversation and spending quality time together.”
Beyond being an Olympic gold medalist and a mom, Johnson East is Dairy Queen’s biggest fan. In fact, combining all parts of her identity — Olympian, mom, and Dairy Queen fanatic — she would if she could create a Chocolate Croissant Blizzard in homage to her daughter’s love for croissants.
“My daughter just had her very first chocolate croissant and she’s obsessed,” Johnson East said. “We’re headed to Paris and I said, ‘Baby just wait until we get to Paris — it’s going to be even better.’”
Before heading off to the 2024 Paris Olympics to be a Yahoo Sports Correspondent, Johnson East is making another blazing home tour around the United States calling for anyone and everyone to participate in Miracle Treat Day. After all, it’s fairly simple — just buy a Blizzard at your local participating Dairy Queen on July 25! It’s never been easier to help out your community.