Prince Albert sure loves its cookies.
In just one week, the city’s four Tim Hortons locations sold 18,700 smile cookies. That’s enough cookies to give each resident in Melfort three cookies each and still have hundreds left over.
That’s a lot of cookies — 3,000 more than last year. It’s also a lot of dollars at $1 each, those cookies mean an $18,700 donation to the Rose Garden Hospice.
And that’s just this year.
Tim Hortons will be donating all proceeds from smile cookies for the next two years to the cause as well. But that’s not all. Tim Horton’s owners are also stepping up to the plate and matching those donations, dollar for dollar, up to $50,000.
Friday, owners Ed Zaparaniuk and his daughter Cheryl Sander did just that, presenting a $50,000 donation to the Rose Garden Hospice.
“It’s about giving back to the community,” Sander said.
“Prince Albert supports us so we’re supporting them.”
“We gave back to the community. That’s what this is all about,” Zaparaniuk said.
“All the donations we get, all these sales go 100 per cent back to charity.”
Sander said her mom is battling cancer, so she’s seen what it’s like to be in the hospital with someone who’s sick.
“To have a warm, welcoming place like the hospice would benefit so many families,” she said. “It’s really, really important to get this built and get this going for the community.”
Zaparaniuk and Sander thanked the community for all of its support to make the donation possible.
“We want to thank the Prince Albert community for buying our cookies,” Zaparaniuk said. “It goes to a great cause. That charity is doing a great job. We want to get that building built.”
“Until you live in this community, you don’t understand what a small community it really is,” Sander said.
“It’s P.A. Everyone comes together. That’s what the whole community is all about.“
