IHOP partners up with Miss AmericaIHOP partners up with Miss America

Lisa Jennings

GLENDALE Calif. The freshly crowned Miss America 2010, Caressa Cameron, will be the spokeswoman for IHOP’s fifth National Pancake Day celebration, which aims to raise more than $1.7 million for children’s hospitals this month.

The fundraising effort began Monday with the sale of paper balloon icons at IHOP restaurants across the country. Guests can purchase $1 or $5 balloons through Feb. 23, with 100 percent of proceeds going to Children’s Miracle Network, an international nonprofit that raises funds for more than 170 children’s hospitals. Guests who buy $5 balloons will receive a $5 bounce-back coupon for a future visit, IHOP said.

Capping off the month-long fundraiser is the annual National Pancake Day event on Feb. 23 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., when IHOP restaurants will give away millions of signature buttermilk pancakes and ask guests to make a voluntary donation to support the Children’s Miracle Network and other local charities.

Cameron, who was crowned Miss America on Saturday, said she was delighted to kick of her reign as a national Goodwill Ambassador for Children’s Miracle Network and its partnership with IHOP, which this year hopes to surpass the $5 million fundraising mark since the annual event was launched in 2006.

Last year, IHOP gave away an estimated 3 million free pancakes and raised $1.5 million for local children’s hospitals and other causes.

“Five million dollars over five years is an impressive fundraising feat, and I look forward to working closely with IHOP and Children’s Miracle Network to turn that goal into a reality,” Cameron said in a statement.

Asubsidiary of Glendale, Calif.-based DineEquity Inc., the almost all-franchised IHOP chain includes 1,433 units in 50 states, Canada and Mexico.

Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected].