Perkins Gives Away Pancakes for Good Cause

The president of Give Kids the World visited the on Monday as the restaurant participated in the chain's Perkins Pancake Day, a fundraiser for Give Kids the World.

Pamela Landwirth said she hopes the Perkins Pancakes Day will become an annual tradition. At a Perkins in Sandusky, she said, a family who benefited from a Give Kids the World vacation in the 1980s came from Michigan to help out.

"They told me that while (their family member) lost his battle, they believe the trip helped him fight on and live another six years after it," she said.

The restaurants offered a short stack of their buttermilk pancakes for free to diners, in return asking that they consider making a donation to Give Kids the World.

Bill Jamison Jr., general manager of the Avon Perkins, said he was hoping to give away 1,000 pancakes on Monday.

Perkins has been involved with the organization almost from the beginning. It runs the Gingerbread House at the group's resort near Orlando, Fla., for seriously ill children. The Gingerbread House is where guests can get meals. More than 4 million meals have been served there, Landwirth said.

The whole experience -- lodging, activities at the resort, meals, tickets to theme parks like Walt Disney World and Universal Studios, transportation -- is free for families. The organization also helps arrange any special care the children need while they're at the resort.

More than 100,000 families -- from all 50 states and from 70 nations -- have benefited from Give Kids the World, which works with about 250 organizations to help connect with seriously ill children and their families.