Menchie's Takes Record Donations for Cancer

A successful, locally-owned frozen yogurt shop which came to town in February has raised hundreds of dollars in an effort to raise funds for and awareness of Leukemia and other blood cancers.

, whose was attended by Mayor Tommy Allegood and other city officials, is part of a larger nationwide chain that has teamed up with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to get the word out about these deadly diseases. The brainchild of this fundraising effort is Stacy Kurko of Savannah, a Menchie's franchisee who recently lost her father to Acute Myeloid Leukemia at the age of 64.

“After my dad was diagnosed, we found out that there wasn't a suitable marrow donor in the family,” Kurko said. She went to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) for information and support, and quickly became involved with them. She ran a triathlon last year to help raise funds for LLS.

Once she became a franchisee, Kurko wanted to continue to help LLS, and sent Amit Kleinberger, CEO of Menchie's, an e-mail outlining her plan. Kleinberger loved the idea, and passed the information along to all the franchise owners in the country. So far, around 36 Menchie's nationwide have opted in to the program, which hopes to raise $10,000 between June 15 and June 30.

It's hard to find someone who hasn't been touched by cancer. “My manager's mom has Lymphoma,” said Scott Paton, co-owner of the Menchie's in Acworth. “When I told him about the fundraiser he was all for it.”

He wasn't alone.

So far, the Menchie's in Acworth has raised $360 for LLS. Menchie's corporate office was hoping that all participating franchises would be able to sell 22 paper balloons per day; Menchie's in Acworth has sold 140 a day. Although bad weather slowed the usual flow of 2 to 3,000 customers a day that Menchie's serves, Paton is optimistic the store will be able to achieve its own goal of raising $7,000.

“I called corporate to tell them how we were doing and they said, 'You've sold how many?',” said Paton.

Paton and his co-owner Randy Elias have been restaurant owners in the Acworth community for six years, and feel the generosity of its residents and the impact cancer has made on so many lives has encouraged patrons to give generously to LLS.

“If this is the home of our business,” said Paton, “then we want to be involved.”

Menchie's is not new to the fundraising game; the business has two or three a week for various local businesses and sports teams. However, the onus of drawing people to the store is on the businesses and sports teams; Paton feels it is unfair to unwitting customers to have fliers shoved into their hands asking for donations. In the case of LLS, though, they wanted everyone to be a part of it.

Sandy Pierre, who has worked at Menchie's since its February open, shared her feelings on Menchie's efforts to help LLS.

“It's a really good cause,” she said, “I love it.” She also said that on most weekends, the line to purchase frozen yogurt is out the door, which might attest to the high number of LLS donations. Additionally, many patrons have donated $5 or even $10, well above the minimum donation of $1.

“Acworth is a community that likes to support, and I've thoroughly enjoyed being a part of it,” said Paton.

Menchie's will be accepting donations to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society until June 30.