On Saturday, Feb. 15, Miss State Fair and SDSU student, Jade Possail brought coffee and a great cause together at Choco Latte where she held a meet and greet and sold her Miracle Mugs, with all of the proceeds going to the Children’s Miracle Network.

  Each square mug was sold for $15 and came in a variety of colors. What made the mugs unique was that each mug was imprinted with a thank you note from various CMN Miracle Kids. According to Possail, she started raising money for CMN when she became a part of Miss South Dakota. Possail said the idea for the mugs came from brainstorming at ChocoLatte. 

 “I’m doing a year of thank you’s … there is a lot of value in a thank you,” Possail said. Possail came up with the idea last fall, and worked on putting the fundraiser together over break. At the meet and greet, mugs were for sale, and visitors were able to participate in a photo booth and meet with a few of the CMN Miracle Kids who were in attendance. According to Possail, the funds will go toward more than hospital equipment. 

   “The whole thing is awesome, we’ve never seen anything like this. It’s something different,” said Ryan Peskey, whose daughter Charlee is one of CMN’s Miracle Kids, and her thank you is featured on one of the mugs. Peskey said they were contacted to come in and Charlee wrote her thank you, and soon after, the mugs were printed by the SDSU print lab. 

   According to Bob Carlson, manager of the Print Lab, Possail approached him about helping with the Miracle Mugs. They looked at a variety of mugs before selecting square mugs, which were enticing due to the variety of colors. The mugs come in green, orange, blue, and two different shades of pink, each featuring a different thank you note. 

   “I don’t think any other product would have the impact, but to me it’s the perfect mug to have on your desk to show, hey, I supported this cause,” Carlson said. 

The meet and greet started at 9 a.m. and by 11 a.m. all 192 mugs were sold out. According to Possail, over $3000 was raised for CMN.      

 “Each mug was creative, and every dollar goes to help. 100 percent of the proceeds goes to CMN,” Possail said. 

 The Miracle Mugs fundraiser extended beyond the walls of ChocoLatte due to the contribution of other businesses in Brookings. Choco Latte filled the mugs with a free cup of coffe and Vintage Willows offered a 20 percent discount to anyone who brought in their Miracle Mug. “The responses to CMN is awesome, everyone just asks to help all the time,” said Peskey. 

   The SD Wheat Commission also sponsored the Miracle Mugs fundraiser, doubling their original sponsorship to increase the amount of mugs made and therefore more money donated to CMN Possail said.  

   Carlson said, “She hit a deep fly ball, she hit it out of the park with it.”