(NBC News) – It’s National Pancake Day and iHop national pancake day… And IHOP is back with a free short stack of buttermilk pancakes.

Donations collected benefit children’s miracle network hospitals and other charities.

But IHOP is upping the ante this year, With a “Pancakes for Life” sweepstakes.

This year, IHOP and its franchisees aim to raise more than $4 million for its national charity partner, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, and other local charities including Shriner’s Hospitals for Children and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.