Dunkin Donuts Will Donate Portion Of Coffee Sales To Local Children's Center And Hospital
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Every cup of iced coffee purchased from Dunkin Donuts on Wednesday will go towards the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and the University of Maryland Children's Hospital.
The donation will come from the Dunkin Joy in Childhood Foundation. All of Baltimore's Dunkin Donuts locations are participating in the fundraiser.
"One of my favorite parts of the foundation is that all the dollars wherever they're raised, that's where they start," Dunkin Donuts Marketing Manager Colleen Krygiel said. "So, it's very much a local effort here in the Baltimore market."
The money raised through the initiative will support programs that bring a sense of normalcy to children and their families, many of whom are spending weeks on end inside a hospital.
This includes games, visits from therapy dogs, and events like a teen prom.
The Dively family knows well what those long hospital stays are like.
"Every moment of every day you just wish you could trade places with her," Jennifer Dively said.
Bridget, who is now 14, had a heart transplant at Johns Hopkins when she was only two years old.
Years later, when she was 11, she was diagnosed with lymphoma, which is something that developed as a result of the anti-rejection medications she was taking to protect her transplanted heart.
Jennifer says one of the things that got them through that period was the extra-curricular activities they could look forward to doing together.
That could be something as simple as a bingo game.
"As a mom, you do what you can do to bring a smile to her face or to help her get through it," Jennifer said.
Today, Bridget is in the eighth grade, preparing for high school next year. She is cancer-free and enjoying life to the fullest.
"One thing I would tell any other patient going through the same experience as me, or maybe a different experience, is keep going, keep moving," Bridget said. "You have so many people looking out for you."
Bridget had her annual heart biopsy two weeks ago and got a clean bill of health.
