Carol Baldwin
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Wakaw Recorder
The first Tim Hortons Smile Cookie campaign was initially launched to raise funds for Hamilton Children’s Hospital. Charities and organizations can apply to be recipients of the fundraising efforts, and the franchise owners select which charity they will support.
All funds raised from the campaign stay in the participating community. Since the first-ever Smile Cookie campaign in 1996, the annual charitable campaign has raised a total of more than $151 million for charities and community groups. Recipients include local hospitals, community care organizations, food banks and schools.
In the 2024 spring campaign in Rosthern, over $ 3000 was raised and donated to the Rosthern Seniors’ Club, enabling the Club to purchase an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to have in the Centre. AEDs are electronic devices used to restart a person’s heart if it has stopped beating. They are small portable machines that: analyze the person’s heart rhythm, determine whether a shock is needed, and use voice or screen prompts to guide the rescuer through the process.
According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, as many as 45,000 Canadians experience a sudden cardiac arrest each year. Early access to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation (1 to 3 minutes after the cardiac arrest) is vital. These actions may increase the chance of survival by 75 percent or more.
This year, Janna Dutton, the owner of the Rosthern Tim Hortons franchise, and Area Manager Jenny Guest presented a cheque for $5390.90 to Darryl Callfas, president of the Rosthern Seniors Club, on June 9 at their monthly board meeting. The donation represented the proceeds of the April 28 to May 4 Rosthern Smile Cookie Campaign. Leading up to the campaign, friends and members of the Rosthern Seniors’ Club took part in decorating the cookies.
In addition to counter sales, local businesses could order cookies for their employees, patrons could round up their sales to contribute to the fundraiser, and cash donations to the campaign were also accepted. Last year, Tim’s guests helped raise nearly $18.8 million across Canada and the United States through the annual Smile Cookie campaign. New for this year was the cute, cuddly Smile Cookie reversible plushie, for which the Net proceeds were also donated.
Callfas relayed how, at the meeting he had with Guest in the early spring to discuss the campaign, he said they should set a goal of $4,000. Guest thought that might be a bit high, but the proof was in the total.
Dennis Helmuth, Mayor of Rosthern, spoke briefly at the presentation, saying that the town and all its citizens appreciate the contributions seniors have made and continue to make to the community. “We are a better community when we can work together for what we need.”
He continued by encouraging those present to come and talk with the town if they had ideas for projects that would add to the community and assist in keeping seniors “functioning and happy and safe within the community.” Mayor Helmuth reiterated, saying, “We are stronger together when we partner with other organizations in our community.”
The Rosthern Seniors’ Club and the Town of Rosthern extend their thanks again to Tim Hortons for helping in so many ways.
