One Ice Cream Caramel Apple for Education, Please

For a back-to-school celebration this past September, the Franklin Fountain, an old-fashioned ice cream shoppe in Old City Philadelphia, created an apple-themed dessert to raise money for education. Global Playground was the lucky beneficiary of the Franklin Fountain's largesse, having received all the proceeds generated from the sale of each warm apple cobbler a'la mode with hot caramel topping. A stick on the ball of ice cream finished the touch to make the entire dessert appear as a caramel apple. "It was a win-win," said Eric Berley, the owner of Franklin Fountain. It was "a way to give back a little bit to the start of the school year and the apple was the perfect treat."

An old college friend of board members Doug Bunch and Edward Branagan at the College of William & Mary, Eric has been closely following Global Playground's developments since its formation in 2006. Eric contacted Global Playground in late summer with the idea of creating a special sundae not only to support Global Playground but also to spread the word about Global Playground to a larger community. Located in Old City Philadelphia, the Franklin Fountain's clientele include tourists from across the world, and each patron, whether enjoying the Schoolhouse Sundae or not, could read about Global Playground at the Franklin Fountain's register and see Global Playground informational posters throughout the shoppe.

The Schoolhouse Sundae was a delicious success, and the Franklin Fountain hopes to continue the back-to-school tradition next September.