Tim Horton's Smile cookie. September 2019. (Photo by Sikander Iqbal)Tim Horton's Smile cookie. September 2019. (Photo by Sikander Iqbal)
Chatham

Smile cookie fundraiser returns

A popular fundraising campaign is coming back to support several Chatham-Kent charities while putting a smile on people's faces.

Tim Hortons' popular Smile Cookie Campaign will run from September 19 to 25. One hundred per cent of the proceeds from the sale of each cookie is donated back to a local charity.

This year, three local charities will benefit from the sale of the cookies.

All Tim Hortons locations in Chatham, Wallaceburg and the Dresden location will be raising money for The Children's Treatment Centre of Chatham-Kent Foundation.

Proceeds from the Thamesville, Bothwell, Ridgetown and Blenheim Tim Hortons will go towards the Chatham-Kent Student Nutrition Program. The Mill Street location in Tilbury will also be donating money to the nutrition program.

Meanwhile, the Tim Hortons at the OnRoute Tilbury North will raise money for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Chatham-Kent. 

A map of what charities each Tim Hortons across the country is donating to can be found by clicking here. 

Local Tim Horton's owners Cara Gragtmans said this will be the fourth year her restaurants have worked with the Chatham-Kent Student Nutrition Program.

She said in 2021, they raised more money than ever for the charity and she's optimistic it will be another banner year.

"We've seen the direct impact. Really, that program would not be able to run without the benefit of smile cookie," Gragtmans explained. "They do things like buy ovens and food and we can see the direct impact on running that charity and providing students with access to nutritional breakfast on a daily basis for those that could not otherwise have it."

Erin Genge, special events coordinator with The Children's Treatment Centre of Chatham-Kent Foundation, said the organization aims to raise $50,000 this year. In previous years, she said they have raised around $35,000.

One of the things she hopes will help drum up even more interest in the campaign this year is that volunteers will be working alongside Tim Hortons staff to help decorate cookies in order to meet the demand.

According to Genge, the foundation put a call out for volunteers that was quickly answered by residents.

"We had amazing feedback from the community and interest, which was amazing to see," said Genge. "The CK community is always so generous with their time to jump on board with campaigns like this...The teams at Tim Hortons are professionals as far as this goes, the management teams are great to work with. So we'll be working alongside their existing team."

A smile cookie preorder form is also available by clicking here. 

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