One of the things we wanted to make sure to do this year while on tour was stop at as many childrens hospitals as possible. We stopped by St. Jude Childrens Hospital in Memphis last year and set our goal for this year at a dozen stops. Thanks to James for heading up the project and lining everything up.
The first stop while on tour was Omaha, Nebraska where we stopped by the Children’s Hospital there. Blue Bunny has been donating all the ice cream and we stopped by Frosty Treats to pick up 2500 treats to get us through Omaha, Wakarusa, and St. Judes the following week. The setup for Omaha couldnt have been any better. There is a nice island right out front where cars can drive around to drop off or pick up people and we drove Newt around it and parked at the far end. That way the kids and hospital helpers could walk out the front door and see the truck just to their right. The Omaha World Herald newspaper sent out a photographer and you can view a few pictures from the paper here.
Our next social was a return to St. Judes in Memphis. St. Jude Childrens Hospital is a special place and once you enter the gates into the campus you can feel the energy and excitement that the place exudes. I guess its a similar feeling that we get when we give away ice cream. Its so nice to know that all these kids are getting help and everyone is there to help. Ive heard from numerous people that once you get a job at St. Jude, you never leave. I can completely understand why, the work environment is prolly what most businesses strive for. We gave out over 500 ice creams there then loaded up on some shirts, magnets, and stickers, then I headed over to The BBQ Shop for the BBQ Ive ever had.mmmmm
After Bonnaroo I headed to Philadelphia for a quick stop to sling cream at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. My friend Kendra had also arranged for us to stop by the HMS School for Children with Cerebral Palsy right beforehand. It was a bit hectic getting cream across the river in Jersey, dry ice, then back to both socials in time. William helped with all the HMS stuff and it was very inspirational to give ice cream to all the kids. So many of them got so excited and it couldnt help but make me smile. Even some of the kids who had dietary needs that didnt allow them to have ice cream were happy to just hang around.
CHOP is one of the oldest and largest childrens hospitals in the country. The large part was clearly evident as I drove around some huge buildings trying to get to the courtyard where Id be parking. Once there I met with Samantha and we filled up a cooler with treats and dropped it into a wagon to wheel around hospital to sling cream. First we stopped at a birthday party then went all over the place giving ice cream and popsicles to kids, their families, and all the doctors and nurses who wanted them. It worked out perfect and we ran out just as we were about to board the elevator to head back to Newt. Next stop Pats King of Steaks for a legendary cheese steak. Mmmmm. Thanks for Popsy Pop in New Jersey and also to The Ice Man for helping out with the dry ice.
Ive been in Brooklyn for a few weeks and soon after I arrived and loaded up on cream at Marina Ice Cream, I headed over to the childrens hospital in town, Maimonides. I knew once I rolled up things were going to be a bit crazy. There were hospitals on each side of the street and I parked Newt in between them. Generally we try to just do the Kids part of the hospital because there are so many doctors and nurses but I think the email that went out about the FREE ice cream went to everyone. Before we started slinging we headed upstairs with the cooler bag full of cream to give treats to the children and their families. By the time we got back down there was a huge line outside in front of the truck. The line was prolly 100 people deep at its longest and people most people were asking for multiples to take back up to their bosses and co-workers. We had over a thousand pieces on board to give away so, originally, I didnt think it would be that big a deal. After about 20-30 minutes I realized I was going to have to cut the max to 3 per but I think by mentioning that it made everyone want three. I think that was the fastest weve ever gone through 1000+ treats. Thanks to the two nice ladies from the hospital who helped out in the truck, couldnt have done it without you.
Thanks to James and to all the people at the hospitals that made the Ice Cream Socials possible. Thanks to Blue Bunny for donating the ice cream and to all the distributors for allowing us to pick it up.
