“Life is short, eat dessert first” is a phrase that has been bandied about by a lot of people for reasons both flippant and serious.
Although it probably sounds like all fun and games, Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day is one of the more serious embodiments of this phrase, serving to increase awareness about childhood cancer.
For children whose lives may be cut short and who see every day as a blessing, it only makes sense to indulge in life’s little pleasures. And Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day brings that opportunity to everyone in support of this important cause!
National Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day Timeline
First Published American Ice Cream Recipe Book
Philadelphia confectioner Francis Guy releases “The Complete Confectioner,” among the earliest American books with detailed ice cream recipes, helping move ice cream toward an accessible everyday treat instead of a rare luxury.
Ice Cream Becomes a Common American Street and Parlor Food
With cheaper hand-cranked and steam-powered freezers, ice cream spreads widely in U.S. cities via soda fountains, ice cream parlors, and street vendors, turning it into a familiar indulgence available throughout the day.
First Successful Continuous-Process Ice Cream Freezer
Engineer Clarence Vogt patents an automatic continuous-process freezer that produces smooth, consistent ice cream on a large scale, making packaged ice cream more widely available for people to eat at home whenever they wish.
Pop-Tarts Introduced as a Sweet, Convenient Breakfast Food
Kellogg’s launches Pop-Tarts toaster pastries and markets them as a ready-to-eat breakfast, reflecting and reinforcing growing American acceptance of dessert-like foods as part of the morning meal.
America Dubbed a “Nation of Ice Cream Eaters”
During World War I, a German officer reportedly describes the United States as a “nation of ice cream eaters,” capturing how deeply ice cream had become woven into American daily life and eating habits.
How To Celebrate Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day
Observing and celebrating this day is about more than just the actual act of eating ice cream for breakfast.
It’s a day to get involved in the effort to encourage children who have cancer and make an effort to put an end to this terrible disease. Try out some of these ideas for getting involved in this worthy cause:
Make a Donation to Fight Childhood Cancer
For those who are not into ice cream or would like to promote this good cause in other ways, why not look for local hospitals and healthcare centers that are in need of donations, as they help parents and children fight this terrible disease?
Certainly, many dollars are needed to research and develop cures for the various cancers that affect children in particular.
St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, Children’s Cancer Research Fund, Make a Wish Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, and the American Childhood Cancer Organization are just a few of the organizations that offer hope and support to children with cancer as well as their families.
Host an Ice Cream for Breakfast Day Fundraiser
Hundreds of children every year benefit from the efforts of various hospitals and organizations. Putting together an Ice Cream For Breakfast Social can help raise spirits and morale, as well as awareness for the need.
Grab a few friends and make a plan for serving ice cream in the morning and asking for a donation. Make it a social event at the office, at a school or in the community. Lots of creative ideas can be implemented to make this day special while spreading the word and raising some finances that can be donated to one of the above charities.
Volunteer at a Children’s Hospital
This might be the day to contact a local child oncology ward and find out what kinds of supplies they need, or arrange to be placed as a volunteer and spend a day with the children playing games and talking. These special children are always eager to drink in the life and experiences of others and to share their own lives with those who come in.
They know they’re sick, but they’re also children, and they don’t let that illness get them down. So, one great way to commemorate the day is to commit to being part of their life’s experience by sharing various stories and listening to theirs.
Share Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day with Friends
Celebrating Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day is best done by joining people around the world for an ice-cream breakfast! Join the community by posting a picture of what you’re eating and who you’re eating ice cream for on the Eat Ice Cream For Breakfast Day social media pages.
Share the idea with friends, family or coworkers who don’t know about it, to help raise awareness to put an end to childhood cancer.
History of Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day
Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day was created to commemorate the nine wonderful years of the bright soul that was Malia Grace, born on February 18, 2001. Malia, who passed away after a long fight with cancer on Dec 7, 2010, was an inspiration to everyone around her.
Those who knew her saw that she glowed with the kind of enthusiasm for life that childhood is made of. She embraced knowledge and learning every day, getting outside whenever possible and drinking in her short life with a passion that made each day a new and exciting adventure of its own.
First celebrated on her birthday in 2013 by a group of close friends of Malia to commemorate her life and creativity, the event started out small and was shared with just a few folks on social media. In 2014, the event went public and opened up to include 55 other families of children with cancer.
Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day went on to become a day to honor all of the children who have battled or are battling childhood cancer. It didn’t take long for the day to explode onto the scene, with thousands of people from all over the world taking part and spreading the message to thousands more.
But isn’t this the wrong date!?
There are actually two events that are very similar in name but founded for very different reasons. Today is not to be confused with Ice Cream for Breakfast Day which takes place on the first Saturday of February, and was created in the 1960s by housewife Florence Rappaport from New York.
