Lansdowne Children’s Center and Brant Food for Thought have once again been selected by local Tim Hortons owners to benefit from this year’s Smile Cookie campaign.
Last year, Tim Hortons restaurants across Canada raised a record $12.2 million for more than 600 local charities and community groups,
Ken Molloy, owner of the Tim Hortons franchise at Colborne Street West and Mount Pleasant Street, said owners vote to select who will benefit from the local campaign.
The cookies are priced at $1 each, with the entire proceeds going to the charities.
At his store last year, Molloy said sales of the Smile Cookies were “just shy of 10,000.”
“It’s a lot of work,” he said.
“They are all baked and decorated in store. We get some volunteers to help staff pump them out.”
Lansdowne provides services and support for children and youth with special communication, developmental and physical needs and their families. And Brant Food for Thought supports school-based nutrition programs.
Last year’s local Smile Cookie campaign raised $107,000, which was split between the two organizations.
Angee Turnbull, executive director of the Lansdowne Children’s Center Foundation, said it’s heartwarming to see the community’s response to the campaign.
“It’s a significant donation to our organization,” she said. “We rely on donor dollars to support both unfunded programs and growing programs as well.”
Gisele Budgell, Brant Food for Thought program director, called the donation “an incredible investment into our universal student nutrition programs.”
She noted equipment, such as coolers, to ensure the safe-handling of food used in program is expensive.
“We want to make sure our programs are run safely and efficiently.”
Budgell also noted that people can help by volunteering to help produce the cookies.
“The local Tim Hortons restaurant owners have limited staff to produce all the cookies, and there is a high demand,” she explained.
“If you visit our website at www.brantfoodforthought.ca, you’ll see a blog post, Get Ready To Smile, that has links for how you can volunteer.”
The Tim Hortons Smile Cookie campaign launches Sept. 19 and continues to Sept. 25.
“We care about the children and youth in our community reaching their optimal potential,” said Turnbull.
“Whether that’s through good nutrition or therapy, we realize the importance of what both organizations do.”