Merrimack’s Hannah Vigeant is shown at a previous Cups for Kids fundraising event. Vigeant has cystic fibrosis and is being treated at Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock. This year’s Cups for Kids campaign, which supports pediatric programs at area children’s hospitals, kicks off today in Boston, while the fundraiser officially begins Aug. 1 at Cumberland Farms stores.

BOSTON – Cumberland Farms is hosting a special event to kick-off its 6th annual Cups for Kids fundraising campaign, which is a month-long fundraiser that benefits pediatric care programs at five children’s hospitals throughout the Northeast. The event takes place from 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m., today at the Museum of Science in Boston, where pediatric patients and their family members from the five participating hospitals will get the chance to explore the museum – as well as attend a signature Boston Duck Boat tour later that afternoon.

Representing all of the sick children in need from CHaD this year is 11-year-old Hannah Vigeant of Merrimack. Hannah suffers from cystic fibrosis, a disease that attacks the lungs and pancreas, which makes it difficult to breathe over time. Hannah is constantly taking medications, having her blood drawn, and dealing with the brutal side effects that come from the disease, as well as attending a clinic every three months to monitor her condition. When she’s not in the hospital for extensive treatments, Hannah enjoys playing with her friends, listening to music with her big sister and reading. She also is an avid volunteer at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

The fundraiser officially starts on Aug. 1, and runs for the entire month. During the fundraiser, five cents from every iced coffee purchased at participating retail locations in New Hampshire will go directly to Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock. Below is a full list of hospitals in the Northeast region that are participating in the fundraising initiative, as well as their selected Cumberland Farms beverage for the fundraiser:

• Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock – Iced Coffee

• The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center – Chill Zone Beverages

• Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center – Iced Coffee

• Connecticut Children’s Medical Center – Chill Zone Beverages

• Bernard & Millie Duker Children’s Hospital at Albany Medical Center – Chill Zone Beverages

Recognized as one of the leading private family-owned and operated companies in the United States, Cumberland Farms values family at its core and encourages and celebrates better health for families in the communities it serves. Over the last five years, Cumberland Farms has donated over $570,000 to its hospital partners through the Cups for Kids initiative.