An organization that helps children in need will be the beneficiary of the Smile Cookie campaign in Prince Albert.
From April 28 to May 4, 100 per cent of the proceeds from Smile Cookie sales at Tim Horton’s will go towards local charities. Prince Albert’s four Tim Horton’s restaurants will put their proceeds towards Children’s Haven.
Amanda Robertson, the Program Director of the Children’s Haven, said the support will go a long way.
“It’s huge because 100 per cent of the profit comes to Children’s Haven, so it means that we can do more,” Robertson said. “We can help out more in the community and continue to have our doors open.”
Children’s Haven provides emergency care for children when a family crisis occurs. They operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and we accept children up to 12 years of age. They have facilities to support up to 17 children at one time. Our support and consultation staff are trained and experienced and provide services for both parents and children.
“We help out in different situations,” Robertson explained. “A crisis can be anywhere. Like, (with) a parent in the hospital, sometimes they’re on their way to the hospital and an ambulance will bring kids here because parents, they don’t have anybody to help them. They might have family. Just no safe family for them to go to, so kids can stay here for one hour, up to maybe a week, maybe two weeks (or) however long the parents in the hospital for.”
She explained that they also help when parents are undergoing cancer treatments and have to travel to Saskatoon.
“We would just do a sign out for them and they’d come every day until their treatments are over,” Robertson said. “With that, parents are really tired and sometimes we’ll (say) ‘you should just leave them overnight so you can rest up’ and their parents are always very appreciative of our service.”
Robertson the funds from this year’s Smile Cookie campaign will go towards a new van.
“Our van is older and it’s costing us more in repairs, so we are looking at trying to save up for one now,” she explained. “It’s pretty hard these days though, and we definitely don’t have enough for a new vehicle.”
She said the van is used to get children to school or activities because the organization tries to keep routine as normal as possible.
“We do take kids to doctors sometimes. If they had appointments like dental appointments and their parents are in the hospital, we’ll try and keep all of that and take them to those appointments, just because you wait six months to get into them,” she said.
Robertson said a crisis does not wait for anything and they work closely with the Prince Albert Police Service and mobile crisis. They work with them to identify children who have been in the Children’s Haven.
Children’s Haven also has a clothing bank where they will take donations for children up to 12-years-old.
“We like to keep a good supply of clothing,” Robertson said.
“We help lots with domestic violence too, so women or men fleeing situation with children, we sometimes will look after the children until a home is found, (or) work with other agencies to get them all place.”
Robertson said that she is glad to work at Children’s Haven
“I wish it wasn’t as busy as it was for crisis centre for kids, but it is and that’s the reality of nowadays,” she said. “I’m very glad to work here. I absolutely love helping.”
She explained that the organization has evolved over the years.
“If we get donations and we can help, we just give them to whoever can really use them,” she said. “We know quite a few families that are really just trying to do better and trying to get ahead, and it’s just so hard these days sometimes.”
The Rose Garden Hospice, YWCA, SPCA and Hope’s Home have all benefited from previous Smile Cookie Campaigns.
This is the first of two Smile Cookie Campaigns that Tim Horton’s will hold this year. The second is typically held around Christmas.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
