By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
The Dilly Bar Brigade was in full force last week.
Manny Patel, owner of the Bowling Green Dairy Queen with his wife, Doli, rolled out the third annual Bowling Green Dilly® Bar giveaway to schools, first responders, banks and other service providers.
More than 10,000 Dilly® Bars were delivered by Patel, DQ staff, and a team of Bowling Green State University Athletics Department staff. The previous two years, he gave away 6,000 and 7,000 ice cream treats, respectively.
The frozen treats were Patel’s way of saying “Thank you” to the Bowling Green community.
“Bowling Green has been so supportive of my restaurants (he also owns The Curry Lounge) and my family,” he said on Thursday.
This is the third year Patel has delivered ice cream treats to Bowling Green schools and businesses, but he started the practice five years ago at his Dairy Queen in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
The giveaway thanks the community, but it also celebrates his daughter, Yana’s birthday. She turns five years old on Nov. 16.
Her early birthday party on Saturday welcomed more than 400 of her family’s closest community friends, preceded by a car parade from their home to the Wood County Fairgrounds.
Every year since she was born, Yana has been surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of family members and friends for her birthday celebration.
For her first birthday, during COVID, they were living in Wisconsin, but returned to India to celebrate with 1,000 family members and friends at an outdoor party.
“I want her to know that her birthday is more than just a celebration, it is giving back to the community,” Patel said. “I want to teach her the same way I grew up (in India). I was raised to give back to others. When you are surrounded by a supportive community, you have to pay them back.” Sharing good fortune with others is a common practice in India for birthdays and other celebrations.
When the BGSU Athletics Director Derek van der Merwe learned that Patel was going from place to place to deliver the Dilly® Bars, he offered to help. That was two years ago.
“Manny, I can bring an army in, and we can help you,” he told Patel. “Let’s do this together, and let us support you.”
He involved the athletics staff and asked them to take boxes of the treats to some of the lucky recipients.
“We all have cars, so they can take care of the Dilly® Bars without eating too many of them on the way,” van der Merwe said with a smile.
“We appreciate everything he does for the community. He’s been kind and generous, so this lets us give back to him for his thoughtfulness and care for our community,” he said. “We want to make sure they see how much we care and love them.”
Many of the schools also show their appreciation by sending cards and notes of thanks to Patel.
He is keeping all the thank-you cards and photos from each year of the Dilly® Bar deliveries and birthday parties for a scrapbook. He plans to give it to her on her 18th birthday as a keepsake to remind her of the tremendous support they have received throughout her youth.
Patel extends his thanks to the community on Yana’s actual birthday. On Nov. 16, he will give away a free Dilly® Bar or small ice cream cone to customers who come into the store (434 E. Wooster St.) No purchase necessary.
