St. Patrick’s day is here, why not spread a little cheer? You may think of St. Patrick’s day as a day for the Irish and ornry, trouble making leprechauns, but I think of it as a day to celebrate the great ole’ Shamrock Shake. For those who say the drink is gross, unhealthy, stupid or call it the “Shame-rock Shake”, I tend to disagree.

In 2012, my Mom came home with a shake in her hand saying , “Here, try this.” From that moment on, I fell in love. I never knew how addicted I could get to this amazing tasting milkshake.

The following year, I got the shake on the first day they came back in season, which is usually a day or two before Valentine’s day. My dad said, “You drink so many of those you should start counting.” So that’s what I did. That year alone I had 38 milkshakes within limited availbility.

Last year, I wanted to beat my record. By drinking a total of 52 milkshakes, I sure did. I was so impressed with this drink, and every time I bought one I couldn’t take my hands off of it. So, I decided to figure out how it came about. Though it seems like this year I won’t be able to beat my record of 52 shakes, due to lack of transportation, I still like to purchase the drink for a story that most don’t know.

Mcdonalds first introduced the great mint, evergreen, mouth watering milkshake in 1970, for a great reason.

It all started with a 3-year-old girl, a football team, and a visionary doctor. According to www.Mcdonalds.com,  Fred Hill, the Philadelphia Eagles’ tight end, was absolutely speechless when he found out that his 3-year-old daughter, Kim, was diagnosed with Leukemia. As Fred and his wife spent countless nights with their daughter at The Childrens Hospital in Philadelphia, they felt like they had to do something to help not only themselves, but other families going through similar situations as well.

Fred  went to teammates, and his general manager, Jim Murray. Doing what he could to help support Fred and his family, Murray called a friend of his from a local Mcdonalds advertising agency. After finding out that the next promotion was St. Patrick’s Day, Murray was able to launch a Milkshake for one week with all proceeds going towards the cause. It was brilliant, a green milkshake that celebrated St. Patrick’s day, people of all ages could drink, and all proceeds went towards a great cause helping others. What could be better?

With being that the drink came out forty five years ago, many people take it for granted. All I hear from people is “Do you know what the ingredients are?” or “Oh my gosh, I can’t have that many calories.”

It annoys me that people tend to be negative toward a drink that they don’t even know the history of.

“As being an Mcdonald’s employee, I never heard of people saying good or bad things. All the shake is is syrup and Milk. I didn’t even know the true meaning behind it. But I think it’s a really cool thing,” said employee, Veronica Curran.

You just might try it because you know that the proceeds still to this day go towards children and families in need. Don’t be lame or have shame, have a Shamrock Shake and put a smile on the faces of many sick children.