It’s Miracle Treat Day today! That means that thousands of people will flock to their local Dairy Queen for a Blizzard treat to support the Children’s Miracle Network. In our area, that means supporting the incomparable Stollery Children’s Hospital.

We’ve made use of the Stollery several times, especially since our twin celiac diagnoses. We also called the Stollery’s cousin, the Royal Alex NICU, home for the first two weeks of our bugz’ lives. This network is near and dear to many friends and families we know.

You would think we’d be first in line for a treat today, especially with a charitable excuse! I love my Blizzards, especially now that they have a mini size – something manageable, rather than gargantuan to treat myself with. But no, we won’t be at DQ today.

Instead, I did what I do every year:

I sent a text to 45678. Then, a $10 donation to the Stollery hospital will come off my cell phone bill. Done. No junk food necessary.

You see, Treat Day is an awesome reminder for me to donate to the Stollery. It brings awareness to the cause, which I love. What I don’t love is that everyone uses it as an excuse to buy junk food “for a good cause”. Yes, some of your purchase goes to the hospital. But most of it goes to ice cream. And while I love ice cream, I don’t feel obligated to buy it to support the cause.

Instead, I take the $10 I would have spent on ice cream and spend the full amount on the Stollery. And maybe tomorrow, I’ll take my bugz for a treat if we think we deserve it. Or maybe we will go to the park to celebrate that they are healthy thanks to the miracle hospitals in our community.

Ice cream is awesome. The children’s hospital in your community is awesome. I just can’t stand using junk food to support healthy causes. It’s right up the alley of ParticipACTION partnering with Coca-Cola, and McDonald’s sponsoring the Olympics. At the end of the day, it drives profit into fast food corporations under the guise of feeling better about yourself.

There is a healthy choice out there too. Take the awareness, and don’t feel obligated. If you really want a Blizzard today, then you should totally get one and enjoy that you are also helping a good cause. But if you don’t want a Blizzard (or wouldn’t get one anyway), don’t make a special trip. Text “Stollery” to 45678 and get more bang for your buck.