Lil' Rounder vs. Make-A-Wish Sundae

Most people love ice cream shops and free food. For those who crave both, South Orange was the perfect place to be on Thursday, when competing ice cream chains, Carvel and Cold Stone Creamery, offered free ice cream to customers.

Even though signs were displayed inside and outside, only one or two people could be found at Carvel around 3:15 p.m. At all Carvel stores across the nation, it was the annual Customer Appreciation Day from 3 to 7 p.m. As a "Lil' Thank You" to customers, anyone could stop into their nearest Carvel and receive a free Oreo Lil' Rounder, which is two large Oreo cookie pieces with soft serve ice cream in between.

"It is appreciation to our customers that come every single day," said Natescha Schram, an employee at South Orange's Carvel. She noted that Carvel has Customer Appreciation Day every year with different products.

Called the "World's Largest Ice Cream Social," Cold Stone was offering a free "Like It" size Make-A-Wish Creation if you made a donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which helps children with life-threatening medical conditions. "It's a really big thing," said manager Nishantha Vithana, who noted that Cold Stone has partnered with Make-A-Wish for the last couple of years. "We are really happy to partner with Make-A-Wish."

According to Daisy, a volunteer for Make-A-Wish, the partnership began in 2002 and 85 percent of the money collected benefits children with life-threatening conditions.

"I think it's a great partnership," said Susan Palmaffy, one of the Cold Stone owners. "It's advertising for Cold Stone, but it helps kids with cancer."

Jared Kofsky is an 11-year-old ice cream lover who was a muncher on the Star-Ledger Munchmobile Ice Cream trip in 2008.