Donut Day

• Win a Year of Free Donuts!
• The History of Donut Day
• Famous Salvation Army Doughboy Doughnut Recipe
• Become a Donut Day Volunteer
• Text Your Donut Day Donation

Last year, The Salvation Army provided more than 1.9 million nutritious meals to people of all ages through our mobile feeding, congregate and community food pantry programs.

Donate by Mobile Phone $10 or more Text DONUT to 41444 Message and Data Rates May Apply. Text STOP to 41444 to stop; Text HELP to 41444 for help. Terms: igfn.org/t. Privacy Policy: igfn.org/p The HELP and STOP sentences must be bolded. Donut Day at Federal Plaza Date: Friday, June 7th Time: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Location: Federal Plaza, 230 S. Dearborn Ave, Chicago, IL 60604 Map/Directions

76th Annual Donut Day

The Salvation Army and Entenmann's Bakery will partner to celebrate the 76th annual National Donut Days on Friday, May 31, Saturday, June 1, Friday, June 7, and Saturday June 8, 2013. A public kick-off event will be held downtown at Federal Plaza on Friday, June 7 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Free donuts, live entertainment, and exciting giveaways will be available to anyone who stops by the event!

Hundreds of Salvation Army Donut Day "taggers" throughout the greater Chicagoland area will give commemorative Donut Day tags to donors whose gifts will help support programs for children, seniors, the homeless and families in need.  The holiday, held annually on the first Friday of June, was established by The Salvation Army in 1938 to honor The Salvation Army’s “Donut Lassies” who served the treats to soldiers during World War I. This significant occasion established the donut as a long-standing symbol of the services The Salvation Army continues to provide.

In honor of the origin of Donut Day, veterans of the Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars, and their families, were also present and honored for their service to our country.

The Donut Day tradition began on the battlefields of France during World War One, when Salvation Army workers went to the front to deliver spiritual aid and comfort to US soldiers and their allies and serve as a link between the soldiers and their families back home. Salvation Army “Donut Lassies” served coffee and donuts to soldiers in the trenches to bring them cheer.  Donut Day became an official Salvation Army annual fundraising event in 1938 in Chicago.