Last year was our very first #donutdayfestival. With a turnout of almost 1,000 people we were able to gather hundreds of letters to send out to The Fighting Dragons who were stationed overseas with one of our very own local hero Jonathan Kukene.
We were able to fill 2 boxes (weighing in over 90 pounds total) with donuts, cookies, kettle corn, magazines, water flavor packets, loads of other goodies and all of the thoughtful and beautiful letters written by our donut day visitors. The response from our adopted unit was truly overwhelming, going as far as to present Glenn and Karen with an honorary flag that was flown during one of their missions. This flag was not only presented to us but to all of you who helped us make this day a success and to bring some cheer to our amazing troops overseas.
This year we will be hosting our #donutdayfestival once again on Saturday June 2nd (Rain Date of Sunday June 3rd) in hopes to gather enough letters to adopt more than one unit! If you know any of our local heroes who are currently serving overseas please contact us!
Donut Day History:
For those who don’t know, there are actually 2 National Donut Days. I know, 2 DAYS TO EAT DONUTS! One is held annually on November 5th, which is a day just about enjoying a guilt free donut. The other donut day, the first Friday of June however serves more of a historical purpose. It was established by the Salvation Army way back in 1938 to honor the Dough Lassies, female volunteers who made donuts for soldiers serving overseas as a way to boost morale. It was a successful effort and led soldiers to use the slogan “doughnuts will win the war!”
Hearing the stories of many woman who left their families to tend to our soldiers overseas inspired a new purpose for the event. To keep the tradition of serving donuts to our troops alive we will be sending dozens of donuts overseas to our very own local heroes. In addition to hayrides and live music we will have a table for all attendees who wish to write notes to be enclosed with the donuts.
-Karen Cook (Co-Owner) & Jenny Durocher (Store Manager)