For 25 years, Tim Hortons restaurant owners have shown their dedication to supporting their communities through the annual week-long Smile Cookie campaign, in which 100 per cent of the proceeds from the sales of chocolate chunk cookies are donated to a charity.
Tim Hortons restaurant owners across North America have now raised over $65 million through Smile Cookies, including a record-breaking $10.56 million raised last year alone.
This year, 625 different charities and community groups will be supported during the Smile Cookie campaign, which runs from Sept. 13 through Sept. 19. The charities, chosen by Tim Hortons restaurant owners, include hospitals, community care organizations, food banks and schools.
“Every year, Tim Hortons restaurant owners and their team members are so excited to decorate our delicious chocolate chunk cookies with blue eyes and pink smiles so we can support hundreds of different charities across Canada,” said Hope Bagozzi, Chief Marketing Officer at Tim Hortons. “With the help of our guests, we’re hoping to make this the most successful Smile Cookie campaign in Tim Hortons history.”
The unofficial Smile Cookie capital of Canada is Dunnville, Ontario, with a population of about 6,000 and located about an hour outside of Hamilton — the original birthplace of Tim Hortons. More than 60,000 Smile Cookies were sold at one restaurant in Dunnville in 2020, the most of any Tim Hortons restaurant in Canada — and that represents about 10 Smile Cookies for every resident in Dunnville! It was the third year in a row that restaurant owner Ryan DiTommaso and his team members sold the most Smile Cookies in Canada, in support of the Dunnville Hospital and Healthcare Foundation.
Not far behind on a per-capita basis was a restaurant in Rosetown, Sask., owned by Danielle Robson, which sold over 21,000 Smile Cookies. With a population of about 2,300, that’s over nine Smile Cookies for each person in town! The restaurant donated their Smile Cookie funds to the Gasper Family Foundation.
Other top-selling restaurants last year included:
- Binbrook, Ont., restaurant owners Steve, Lorraine and Kara Kennish sold over 35,000 Smile Cookies in support of Empowerment Squared
- Peace River, Alta., restaurant owners Gordon and Barbara Drummond sold over 23,000 Smile Cookies in support of Always Find a Reason to Smile
- Lac-Megantic, Que,. restaurant owners Denis Bourque and Chantal Francis sold over 19,000 cookies in support of Maison Cinquième Saison
To participate in this year’s Smile Cookie campaign, visit your local Tim Hortons restaurant or place an order through the Tim Hortons mobile app for delivery.
For a full list of local charities and community groups benefiting from Tim Hortons annual Smile Cookie campaign, visit http://www.timhortons.ca/smile-cookie. Guests can also share how they are supporting the annual campaign by using the hashtag #SmileCookie on social media.
