Velvet Again Ramping Up for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

UTICA, Ohio (Oct. 12, 2009) - Breast cancer is a disease that has hit close to home at Velvet Ice Cream.

The family matriarch and company treasurer, Tatla Dager, and her daughter Joanne, who is vice president of Velvet's food service division, are both breast cancer survivors.

For those two very good reasons, October - National Breast Cancer Awareness Month - is a busy month at Velvet.

Velvet is rolling out its Vanilla Lovers Trio Ice Cream in the pink package. The cartons are trimmed in pink and are adorned with the distinctive pink breast cancer ribbons. A portion of the sale of each carton of Vanilla Lovers Trio is donated to the Stefanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.

On Wednesday, Oct 14, 11:30 a.m., Velvet representatives will present a check to the Spielman Fund, representing proceeds raised from last year's sales of the "pink" ice cream. Velvet also will be passing out ice cream at the event.

Internally, the Velvet Cares Committee, an employee-organized charity committee, will collect $1 each Monday in October from employees in exchange for the right to wear blue jeans and a pink ribbon T-shirt with the slogan, "Let's lick this together."

"Obviously, this is a big issue for us at Velvet," said company President Luconda Dager. "It is personally touching that the employees at Velvet have also embraced the cause. I'm very proud of the effort that Velvet and its employees are making to rid the world of this awful disease."

Also, Velvet and the American Cancer Society are teaming up with Chief and Rays supermarkets on Oct. 24 to sample Velvet's Vanilla Lovers Trio Ice Cream and raise money for cancer research. There are 13 Chief and Rays supermarkets in northwest and west central Ohio.

Headquartered at Ye Olde' Mill in Utica, Ohio, Velvet Ice Cream has been a family owned and operated business for nearly 100 years. Founded in 1914 by family patriarch Joseph Dager, Velvet has been run by four generations of the Dager family. Each year, Velvet produces more than five million gallons of ice cream, which can be found in freezer cases throughout the Midwest. The historic Ye Olde' Mill, which houses the company headquarters, an ice cream museum and restaurant, attracts more than 150,000 visitors a year.

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CONTACT:
Robin Yocum
614.378.3286