Orangeville DQ’s Miracle Treat Day raises nearly $37,000 for SickKids in one day

August 20, 2026 · 0 Comments

By Joshua Drakes

The Orangeville Dairy Queen demonstrated its ongoing commitment to charitable causes this past week, breaking donation records with its annual Miracle Treat Day fundraiser.

The restaurant drew massive crowds as the community showed up in force.

Owner John Lockyer said it was a record-setting fundraising day, with nearly $37,000 raised last Thursday, Aug. 13, for the SickKids Foundation, including Blizzard sales, roundup contributions, and additional donations.

“It was absolutely fantastic,” he said.

The business sold its second-highest number of Blizzards ever for Miracle Treat Day with 5,800 sold, while recording its highest number of same-day sales, excluding pre-orders. It also raised more money on the day than ever before.

Combined with fundraising already collected through customers rounding up their order earlier in the year, the total has now reached almost $70,000. The restaurant is aiming to raise another $15,000 this year through customers rounding up to reach $85,000 total.

The busy day saw customers line up outside the restaurant as the community turned out in strong numbers. Lockyer said his team handled the rush expertly, and commended their dedication.

“The community just turned out and helped us out just tremendously; it was just fantastic,” Lockyer said. “Some of our team members worked really, really, really long hours, and they did just an amazing job. And they were just as happy and friendly and fast at the end of the night as they were when they got there before lunchtime.”

The event also brought local SickKids survivors and families into the restaurant to help. Volunteers worked the drive-through, mixed Blizzards and delivered orders to tables. Orangeville’s mayor and deputy mayor also joined the team for the day, helping serve customers.

“Almost every couple of hours, we had another young person who had been touched by SickKids, who was a survivor, to help us out,” Lockyer said. “They worked at the drive-through. They mixed blizzards. They delivered orders to tables. Most of the folks were local, and many of them reached out to us to ask if they could come help.”

Lockyer credited the wider community for the event’s success, including local businesses that purchase Blizzards for their staff, regular customers who round up their orders and residents who make donations to SickKids Foundation.

“I conduct the orchestra, but we’ve had so many businesses that we can count on every year for buying blizzards and sharing them with their staff, and then we have the same faces that come by once or twice or three times a week and round up their order,” he said.

“We have the same folks who write us a cheque to the SickKids Foundation every year that goes on behalf of Miracle Treat Day. So, it’s just a wonderful event, and we’re just so lucky that we live in a community where everybody can come together and work together for something that’s as important as fundraising for SickKids.”

The restaurant expressed its appreciation to everyone who bought a Blizzard, donated, volunteered or helped make the day a success, emphasizing that the fundraising effort is a community-wide effort supporting an important cause.

With another Miracle Treat Day behind them, Orangeville demonstrated once again that it’s a community that shows up when it matters most to support a good cause.