HALDIMAND—Haldimand has proved it has both a sweet tooth and a sweet heart in the wake of the Tim Hortons Smile Cookie fundraising campaign.
While the final totals weren’t available before press deadline, approximately $123,000 was raised for local not-for-profits across the county’s six restaurants. Throughout the campaign, Tim Hortons locations sell cookies that have been decorated by both staff and volunteers for $1.50, with all proceeds going to the charity of the individual restaurant’s choice.
For six years in a row, Dunnville was the Smile Cookie capital of Canada; in 2023, over $77,000 was raised for the Dunnville Hospital and Healthcare Foundation, benefitting the Haldimand War Memorial Hospital. This year, the unofficial total for the location was just over $51,350 raised, and as of May 3, it was fifth in Canada and first in Ontario.
This was the first Smile Cookie campaign in Dunnville for Bob Noble, the restaurant’s new co-owner with his wife, Cathy Noble; he said it was “quite the experience,” praising the staff, volunteers, and community members for their contributions to the effort.
“We had a very organized routine and I’m proud to say that we never ran out of cookies once, so we maximized our sales,” Noble said, adding that he was looking forward to next year.
Sandie Heirwegh, Chair of the Hospital Foundation Board, said her fellow members “were so pleased to learn that (the Nobles) wanted to keep the legacy of having Smile Cookie sales go towards supporting healthcare in Dunnville.”
In Ontario, hospital equipment isn’t paid for by the government; it has to be funded through other means, such as grants and especially donations.
Heirwegh said the Smile Cookie funds “will go towards highest priority medical equipment, to provide our hospital and its staff with the tools they need to provide the best in care.”
Haldimand’s other hospital, West Haldimand General Hospital in Hagersville, will also see a nice boost in donations received this year as its foundation was chosen as the recipient for both the Hagersville and Jarvis locations, which raised around $16,500 and $24,000 respectively, for a total of approximately $40,500.
The other half of Haldimand’s Tim Hortons locations also chose the same recipient organization, the Child Nutrition Network of Haldimand and Norfolk.
The two Caledonia locations combined raised approximately $16,500, and as of May 4, the Cayuga location was just under $14,000 – though that restaurant’s operations manager, Mandy-Lynn Reda, was anticipating that the final amount would come in over $15,000.
“The town really rallied with them,” she said, noting that over the weekend the Cayuga location had been in the top six for the Hamilton and surrounding area group of stores.
“Which is amazing; they’ve never been on the board before,” Reda said.
A combined donation of over $30,000 is very welcome news, said Sharon Smyth, community facilitator for the Child Nutrition Network of Haldimand and Norfolk, which operates under Haldimand Norfolk REACH.
“The schools are needing additional cash this year because the food costs have changed,” she said. On top of that, she knows anecdotally that the number of students utilizing the food programs in local schools is “definitely up from previous years.”
The schools with snack programs offer students options from two food groups. Two schools in Haldimand have expanded this year to offer meal programs as well, which offer students options from three food groups.
“There’s some kids coming to school without lunches,” Smyth said.
The guidelines from the Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services – which provides about a third of the funding for the programs – are that these programs are open to any students who wish to access them.
“So there’s no stigmatizing or anything like that for students,” Smyth explained.
While there might be kids going hungry in a local school every day of the week, not every school can offer food programs all the time. It comes down to a question of limited resources, both human and financial.
Smyth explained that the food programs are run by volunteers; these might be family members of students, community members who want to help out, or staff who are going above and beyond.
But even if the will is there, the food supplies might not be.
While some area schools have expressed an interest in offering food programs throughout the week, “There’s just not funding available,” Smyth said.
That’s why being chosen for Smile Cookie campaign proceeds is so welcome.
“We know it will make a difference in feeding tummies in our schools in Caledonia and Cayuga,” Smyth said, adding her gratitude to the local restaurants for their efforts, and for the support from the community.
“It’s incredible how a simple gesture like purchasing a cookie can have such a significant impact.”
