Children's Center Reaps Benefits of Ashley's Ice Cream Contest

The kid-founded Connecticut-grown United States of Community Service (USCS) and Ashley’s Ice Cream have announced the final totals for their recent Create a Flavor, Change the World ice cream flavor contest, and one Hamden organization will be the recipient of a portion of the funds raised.

“I’m happy to announce that thanks to the overwhelming support of our customers in Guilford, Madison, New Haven, Branford and Hamden, Ashley’s Ice Cream will be donating a total of more than $6,000 to five wonderful child-centered organizations,” said Ashley’s Ice Cream owner Joe Ametrano. “We couldn’t be happier with the results of this community-supported campaign and our partnership with these community service-minded kids.”

Conceived by the USCS almost-sleepover girls in partnership with Ashley’s Ice Cream, the month-long ice cream promotion attracted almost 400 tasty flavor entries nationwide and resulted in last month’s surprise double-crowning of a pair of winning flavors: Nutella Chip Ice Cream, submitted by 10-year-old Brennan Gollaher of Guilford, and Red-White-and-Blueberry Ice Cream, submitted by 11-year-old Caroline Holmes of Greencastle, PA.

The two flavors will become the official flavors of the 2011 USCS Make a Difference Day Almost-Sleepover event—a kid-powered community service quest to unite kids in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. with simultaneous almost-sleepover celebrations on Oct. 22, to perform community service, shine the spotlight on local charities and make a difference nationwide. Already, kids in 28 states have signed up through www.uscsnow.org website to make a difference that day.

The two winning flavors were available for purchase at all five Ashley’s locations for the entire month of July, National Ice Cream Month, with all proceeds from the sale of the flavors benefitting a child-centered organization in each of Ashley’s five locations:

•  Guilford Library’s Children’s Room Adopt-a-Book Program will receive $1,124.
• The Children’s Place at Connecticut Hospice in Branford will receive $1,393.
• Life Haven in New Haven will receive $1,558.
• The Children’s Center of Hamden will receive $1,298.
• Ucan2′s LifeStraw project of Madison will receive $739.

“The Children’s Center of Hamden is honored that the USCS girls chose us as one of the recipients of funds from Ashley’s Create a Flavor, Change the World project,” said Diane Surprenant, director of personnel and development at The Children’s Center of Hamden.

“School starts at the end of this month and the children in Kids Cottage, our safe home, are in need of supplies and book bags. Kids helping kids and making a difference; it is very special for them to know that they have friends in the community who care.”

“With the Create a Flavor, Change the World contest with Ashley’s Ice Cream, the almost-sleepover girls have once again shown that they are committed to making a difference in the lives of the women and children at Life Haven,” said Katie Fischer, a member of Life Haven’s board of directors. “We are both grateful for and touched by their continued kindness and support.”

“Ashley’s Ice Cream has a long history of supporting and donating to community causes,” said USCS spokesperson Laurie Kenney. “The generosity and support of Ashley’s owner Joe Ametrano and co-owner Brian Anderson and of Ashley’s customers in these five towns is what the United States of Community Service is all about.”