HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — As we head into the holiday season, Dunkin' Donuts is sprinkling some joy Monday for the Huntsville Hospital for Women and Children, through a $28,000 grant.
Huntsville Hospital St. Jude Affiliate Clinic Charge Nurse Tosha Canterberry says a child's cancer diagnosis affects the whole family.
"Parents may lose their jobs. They have siblings that are not able to maybe participate in things that they would before their sibling's diagnosis. So there can be some hard things to get through…so a little bit of money here and there goes a long way," Canterberry said.
Dunkin' Donuts Joy in Childhood Foundation gave a $28,000 grant to the Huntsville Hospital for Women and Children.
This money goes directly to families in need of support during their child's cancer treatments.
"There are utility bills that need to be covered. There's car payments in order for that car to be able to bring them to their appointments," Canterberry said.
And families may even travel a long way to get to the hospital, "so they go between here and Memphis, which is about three, three and a half hours away. So gas cards go a long way in our clinic just for travel," Canterberry added.
This funding was collected from stores in North Alabama in September, during a campaign called 'Dunkin Shines Gold for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.'
Katie Gaston, the co-chair of Southeast Joy and Childhood Foundation Board shares that, "restaurants presented a 'shine gold' donut that guests could purchase for $2, with 100% of those funds going back to childhood cancer awareness and research."
The 11 stores owned by Dunkin' Donuts Franchisee and CEO of Southern Food Services, Blake Robinson, raised $28,000 dollars from customer donations.
Dunkin' says they're excited to give to the hospital and encourage those who run into medical staff to, "spread some joy to them, give them a little thanks, maybe treat them to a cup of their favorite coffee," Gaston said.
The Huntsville Hospital Foundation welcome donations to further their mission of bringing hope and healing to patients and their families.