Public Service Announcement

Today is National Doughnut Day. It's always celebrated the first Friday in June and was started in 1938 by the Chicago Salvation Army to raise funds during the Great Depression and to honor the World War I "lassies".



During WWI, the Salvation Army lassies were sent to the front lines of Europe. These brave volunteers made home cooked foods, and provided a moral boost to the troops. Often, the doughnuts were cooked in oil inside the of the metal helmet of an American soldier. The American infantrymen were commonly called doughboys.

Salvation Army lassies were the only women outside of military personnel allowed to visit the front lines. Ensign Helen Purviance is considered the Salvation Army's "first doughnut girl".



Fun Doughnut Facts:

In the U.S. alone, more than 10 billion doughnuts are made every year.

The largest donut ever made was an American-style jelly doughnut weighing 1.7 tons, which was 16 feet in diameter and 16 inches high in the center.

Per capita, Canada has more doughnut shops than any other country.

The hole in the doughnut's center appeared in the first half of the 19th Century.

Adolph Levitt invented the first doughnut machine in 1920.

There's a doctor at my hospital that looks like the "gotta make the doughnuts" guy from the Dunkin Donut commercials.

Check out your local doughnut shops for FREE giveaways today.