Ben and Jerry Come to Town

Ben and Jerry, "Vermont's Finest" ice cream makers, have added another flavor of social consciousness to their business.

The traveling show and ice cream truck, which held a circus extravaganza on the Memorial Hall lawn Wednesday, raised $877 for Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA).

Hundreds of spectators gathered around a portable stage with an enormous rainbow-colored balloon to watch jugglers, comedians, musicians and mimes. A truck parked near the show offered ice cream and frozen yogurt, while PBHA members peddled Ben and Jerry's t-shirts.

Part of the proceeds were collected by officials of the Harvard Office of Community Affairs, which brought the show to Harvard as part of National Volunteer Week festivities, said Mary Ann Jarvis, the office's associate director for community programs.

Jarvis said her office chose to give the money to PBHA to help fund Operation Together, a program that organizes excursions to Boston and Cambridge for all of the children who attend PBHA summer camps.

Ben and Jerry's has built a reputation for championing progressive causes, donating some of their profits to charity and promoting recyclable products. The show bus is partially powered by solar cells on its roof.

The Traveling Show, a group of independent contractors employed by Ben and Jerry's, has been touring the country for nine months, said Robert Wood, road manager for the show. At each location, the show donates its proceeds to a local non-profit organization, Wood said.

The show is part of Ben and Jerry's efforts to join the Children's Defense Fund's "Leave no Child Behind" campaign, designed to help educate the nation about the crisis of poverty stricken and neglected children.

Ben and Jerry's officials and employees said the tour was an opportunity to publicize their ice cream and to thank consumers for the company's success.