Owners Paul Stevenson and Tammy Jacklin opted to continue the campaign for local education, which was started by former operator Ashley Hrinkanic, after taking over in 2023. The two Gravenhurst locations raised money for Muskoka Beechgrove Public School before taking on another four years committed to schools. First came Gravenhurst Public School, then K.P. Manson, and now Glen Orchard Public School in Muskoka Lakes is getting its turn. Smile Cookies cost $1.50 each, with all proceeds in Gravenhurst going to the school’s technology and equipment fund.

“It’ll help all of our students from kindergarten all the way up to Grade 8, moving forward in the school year and next year, so any support is welcome,” said Grade 4 teacher Matt Cobean, who is acting as head of the Smile Cookie campaign at Glen Orchard.

Cobean said everyone at Glen Orchard is “over-the-moon excited” to be this year’s recipient for the campaign. The school recently received a donation to fund a new playground. Now, it can focus Smile Cookie funds on equipment and technology needs.

Once they see how much the Tim Hortons locations raise, the staff will sit down together to decide how to spend the money. They’re considering additional laptops, outdoor equipment for their new playground, and a projector to use in the gym for assemblies, parent council meetings and movie nights. But they won’t make any final decisions until they see the results.

“It’s such a great feeling to know that local businesses are putting money back into local schools,” he said. “It’s the perfect opportunity to give schools what they need, and it’s a wonderful thing that those owners are doing.”

Between staff and students, the school will have all hands on deck to decorate cookies as well as posters to promote the campaign. Cobean has been going around Gravenhurst distributing flyers to local businesses with the hope of garnering as much support as possible.

He knows teachers at Beechgrove and Gravenhurst Public School who have benefited from Smile Cookies in the past few years. After lending his support to their school campaigns, he’s asked them to do the same for Glen Orchard. The response has been as enthusiastic as he expected from the tight-knit community of Gravenhurst.

“It’s good to know that you can ask anyone at a different school within Gravenhurst and they’ll be ready to help, almost at a moment’s notice,” Cobean said. “It’s a great feeling.”

Gravenhurst Tim Hortons raised about $22,202 for Muskoka Beechgrove, $19,806 for Gravenhurst Public School and $18,494 for KP Manson. The totals and the impact they had on each of the schools were more than the Tim Hortons team could have imagined.

“It’s huge,” said Kristina Brownlee, general manager of the two Gravenhurst Tim Hortons locations. “We’ve raised way more than we expected for all the schools.”

It was special for them to see the success last year because several team members have children at KP Manson. This year, they’re hoping to match or surpass that total, which allowed the school to upgrade its outdoor learning space.

Each year, they do assemblies at the schools to announce the totals and present the cheques. Brownlee said it’s an awesome part of the process to witness the joy it brings students.

“The kids, holy, they could break your eardrums, they’re so excited,” she said.

She and her team are excited to start yet another campaign dedicated to the area’s children. They don’t have an early estimate of the sales since they haven’t received preorder forms from Glen Orchard quite yet, but they’re gearing up for another big win for Gravenhurst’s schools.

“Everybody loves it,” Brownlee said. “They all work harder just to get those Smile Cookies out because they know it’s going to benefit all the kids.”

To support Glen Orchard Public School through the Smile Cookie campaign, visit the Gravenhurst Tim Hortons locations at 150 Talisman Drive and 2329 Highway 11 South from April 28 to May 4.

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The $1 million investment will add a new, quality learning environment for the children of Port Carling and the Township of Muskoka Lakes. This project is part of the province’s capital investment program to build more licensed child care spaces for Ontario’s families.

“The funding for this child care centre renovation at Glen Orchard Public School is great news for families in Muskoka Lakes,” said Norman Miller, MPP for Parry Sound-Muskoka. “This investment will provide child care opportunities for families and create a positive environment for the children.”

To create new opportunities for Ontario’s families, the government is investing up to $1 billion to create up to 30,000 new child care spaces in schools over five years.

“Our government is proud to support the creation of new child care spaces at Glen Orchard Public School – providing access to local child care options for working parents,” said Education Minister Stephen Lecce. “In addition to building new spaces, we are also taking action to make child care more affordable through the enhanced CARE Tax Credit, which now will save a family on average $1500 per year.”

Highlights of the child care renovation include:
•           Capacity for up to 54 new licensed child care spaces.
•           Three new child care rooms.

“On behalf of Trillium Lakelands District School Board I would like to express how pleased we are to receive funding for the child care centre at the school,” said TLDSB Trustee Louise Clodd. “It is a wonderful opportunity for these young children and their families to have a child care experience and early learning opportunities connected to the Glen Orchard Public School.”

Glen Orchard Public School is located at 3954 Muskoka District Road 169 in Port Carling.

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