The day the communities of Gray and Jones County come together to take care of the children of Middle Georgia and beyond is back, with expectations high for another miracle at the “Busiest Dairy Queen on Earth.”
Thursday, July 30, is Miracle Treat Day for all Dairy Queens, but the Gray restaurant began setting the standard in 2021 after being purchased by Justin Kelly. That first year the goal of $50,000 was considered lofty for a community of 30,000 people but turned out to be a little low.
It actually brought in $80,457, and it has steadily gone up from there. The first year to top $100,000 was 2024, when the total reached $123,677. Last year’s total blew that out of the water with a total of $180,000.
The accumulated donation to the Beverly Knight Olson Children’s Hospital to date is over $556,000. The definition of a miracle is “an extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all human powers.” It would be hard to argue that Miracle Treat Day at Gray’s Dairy Queen does not qualify.
The difference in what Kelly does, compared to other restaurants, is to donate every cent of the money brought in on Miracle Treat Day. That is not every cent of profit, or $1 for every blizzard, it is every penny that comes into Dairy Queen beginning when the doors open at 5:30 a.m. and the last vehicle comes through the drive-thru at 9:30 p.m. July 30.
In a July 23 interview, Kelly said what really makes the totals go up are the business supporters, and 45 of them have already committed to matching the amount the restaurant makes that day during its busiest hour.
The owner said he hopes to get to 50 because of the loss of one of the event’s biggest supporters, Jimmy Goolsby. The businessman and local philanthropist never wanted the amount of his donations to be known, but Kelly said his continued support financially, physically and emotionally will definitely be missed.
In a July 24 video on social media, Kelly suggested businesses and individuals may want to make their donations in honor of Goolsby.
“I know he would like that.”
Kelly said he would like to top last year’s total, but he knows that is not going to be easy.
Raising $100,000 in one day is a high bar.
One benefit this year over last will be the presence of student volunteers who were in school during the 2025 Miracle Treat Day. He said school started July 31 in 2025, and the students were missed.
The owner makes sure that the money that is donated goes directly to take care of the kids.
“This isn’t used to pay doctor bills or anything other than making that child as comfortable as possible during their hospital stay,” he said.
Kelly said many times parents cannot work while their children are in the hospital, and money is not there for extras.
“If a child comes to the hospital and needs anything to make them more comfortable, that’s what this money is for,” he said. “The Beverly Knight Olson Children’s Hospital is the best place for these children to be, and that might mean they are several hours from home.”
He said Miracle Treat Day donations can help ease the pain for families with very sick children.
“Every dime we collect July 30 goes to help the children.
Nothing collected that day goes to anything else,” the owner added.
Kelly said this year Macon Tent and Awning is setting up tents in the parking lot to make it a little cooler for the volunteers. He said breakfast is the slowest time of the day during the event, and he invites everyone to come and have breakfast.
Result announcement
As has been his custom, Kelly said he will go live on social media at 10:15 p.m., July 30, with the announcement of the total amount raised for the day released by 10:30 p.m.
