Ashley's Ice Cream Donates $6,112 in Create a Flavor, Change the World 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.

“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.”

“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!”

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, Connecticut) and Red-White-and-Blueberry Ice Cream (submitted by 11-year-old Caroline Holmes of Greencastle, Pennsylvania). 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 October 22, 2011, to perform community service, shine the spotlight on local charities and make a difference nationwide. Already, kids in 28 states have signed up through our 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 (Guilford) will receive $1,124.00
• The Children's Place at Connecticut Hospice (Branford) will receive $1,393.00
• Life Haven (New Haven) will receive $1,558.00
• The Children's Center of Hamden (Hamden) will receive $1,298.00
• Ucan2's LifeStraw project (Madison) will receive $739.00

“With our book budget cut, this incredibly generous donation from Ashley’s Ice Cream will help the Guilford Free Library purchase many, many new books for the children’s room through our Adopt a Book program,” said Suellen Heinrich, children’s librarian at the Guilford Free Library. “We are thrilled that the USCS girls chose to make a difference for the Guilford Free Library—and grateful to Ashley’s and its customers for their support.”

“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.”

“The Children’s Place at the Connecticut Hospice is grateful that these young girls thought of our littlest patients when choosing a child-centered organization to support here in Branford,” said Linda Laucella, manager of the development office at Connecticut Hospice. “How generous of Ashley’s Ice Cream and its customers to support our efforts to care for these children and to provide much-needed support for their families and friends.”

“Thanks to USCS, Ashley’s Ice Cream and the community—all of whom have shown our kids that no one is too young and no action too simple to make a huge impact in the lives of many,” said Kathy Leckey, founder of UCan2’s LifeStraw project. “Thanks to the generosity of Ashley’s Ice Cream and its customers and the support of the USCS almost-sleepover girls, UCan2’s LifeStraw project will be able to purchase almost 150 LifeStraw personal drinking filters for people in developing countries—giving those 150 people the life-saving ability to drink uncontaminated water for an entire year.”

In a show of Keystone State USCS spirit, Marty Boscolo, owner of Mikie's Ice Cream & Green Cow of Greencastle, Pennsylvania, donated all proceeds from the sale of co-winner Caroline Holmes’s Red-White-and-Blueberry flavor in his store from July 15 through July 17 to Caroline's two charities of choice. The $162 raised that weekend was split between the Cumberland Valley Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation and the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter.

Ashley’s Ice Cream

From the beginning Ashley’s goal has been to make the best ice cream possible, and they continue to do that today over 30 years later! Ashley’s Ice Cream was founded in 1979. Being avid frisbee players, they became enamored with Ashley Whippet—the famous frisbee catching dog. So the Ashley's name was born, and their walls have been decorated with hundreds of frisbees they've collected ever since. Ashley’s Ice Cream originated in New Haven in 1979 on College Street, just steps away from the dormitories of Yale University. It didn’t take long for the crowds, accolades, and awards to start filling the store; so much so that a second Ashley’s opened on the other side of campus on York Street, where they still are today! Ashley’s has been in nearby Hamden since 1983, and shops in Guilford, Branford, and Madison subsequently followed, bringing the total to 5 locations. Find out more at www.ashleysicecream.net.

About The United States of Community Service Make a Difference Day Almost-Sleepover

The United States of Community Service Make a Difference Day Almost-Sleepover is a kid-powered community service quest to unite kids in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. with simultaneous almost-sleepover celebrations on October 22, 2011, to perform community service, shine the spotlight on local charities and make a difference nationwide. Already, kids in 28 states have signed up to make a difference that day!

Large group or small, girls or boys, elementary-school-age kids or high school seniors, a Make a Difference Day Almost-Sleepover is the perfect way for scout troops, youth groups, homeschool groups, birthday parties, sports teams, families, church groups, friends, school clubs, entire schools or entire towns—for anybody and everybody—to join together to make a difference in their community.

How small is too small? All it takes is a handful of pajama-clad friends getting together to do a community service project on the evening of October 22, 2011, for your event to be considered an official USCS Make a Difference Day Almost-Sleepover. How big is too big? The sky’s the limit!

Please note: While our goal is to inspire almost-sleepovers in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. on October 22^nd, there is DEFINITELY room for more than one almost-sleepover in each state! The more almost-sleepovers, the more kids empowered, the more communities involved, the more local charities helped, the more of a difference we can all make on October 22nd...and beyond! 

Built on a 2011 National Make a Difference Day Award-winning almost-sleepover community service project hosted by 9-year-old Delaney and 8-year-old Addie Kenney from Guilford, Connecticut and friends Willow and Rosalie Coleman, Sophie Marnin, Marlah Hohlfelder and Isabel Kessler, this kid-powered community service event is the first project from The United States of Community Service, Inc. (USCS) an organization (501c3 nonprofit status pending) dedicated to empowering children to make a difference in their communities, their nation and their world by providing opportunities for children to get involved in community service and working with and supporting the efforts of other nonprofit organizations.

Visit www.uscsnow.org for all the latest on this kid-powered community service event and to find out how your child can register to host his/her own USCS Make a Difference Day Almost-Sleepover this October 22^nd!