The annual smile cookie campaign at Tim Hortons saw patrons raise a record-breaking $19.7 million to support more than 600 charities and community groups across Canada and in the United States.
“To achieve such an amazing result means baking and hand-decorating millions upon millions of smile cookies over the course of just a week. My heartfelt thanks goes out to everyone in the Tim Hortons family who made this happen, all our passionate restaurant owners and team members, and the volunteers helped us dot eyes and create smiles,” company president Axel Schwan said in a news release.
The first campaign in 1996 raised funds to support Hamilton Children’s Hospital. Since then, the annual charitable campaign has raised a total of more than $111 million for charities selected every year by individual restaurant owners. Recipients include local hospitals, community care organizations, food banks and schools.
In Greater Victoria, the weeklong campaign that ended May 7 saw 23 Tim Hortons restaurants raise funds for the Children’s Health Foundation of Vancouver Island to support Jeneece Place, a home away from home next door to Victoria General Hospital.
A shop in Dunnville, Ontario, sold the most smile cookies this year — almost 52,000 which is nearly nine cookies for every resident.
RELATED: Smile cookies raise cash for Island kids, families facing health crises
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