Previous years have shown that the citizens of the region and those surrounding, have adopted the Tim Hortons® Smile Cookie™ campaign. While the success of this campaign lies with franchisees and their employees, customers and regional businesses certainly are a big part of the cookie. Therefore, from September 13 to 19, the Fondation de l’Hôpital du Suroît invites all residents of the region to go to one of the participating Tim Hortons restaurants and pick up a Smile Cookie.
Photo Mélanie Calvé
In 2020, the success of the sales from the Smile Cookie™ of Tim Hortons®, located on rue Alphonse Desjardins, shined throughout the province and even nationally. In fact, the franchise was the second best seller in Quebec and the eighth in Canada.
In the region, the Smile Cookie™ campaign is organized for the benefit of the Fondation de l’Hôpital du Suroît. This association began in 2018 and since then, more than
$ 102,000 has been raised thanks to the generosity of Tim Hortons® franchisees and the citizens of Suroît. This amount is dedicated to a promising project aimed at supporting youth mental health and more particularly, disadvantaged families in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield.
This year, through the sale of the Smile Cookie™, the Fondation de l’Hôpital du Suroît will support the VIGILANCE project. In fact, last year, as a result of the money raised during the campaign, 13,500 meals were distributed so that children could benefit from a hot meal at school. When the cold weather arrived, 67 children received a snowsuit. Also, 76 kits intended to entertain children during spring break were offered. In short, 40 families count on the support of the project and of this number, 67 children benefit directly from this support.
“With the VIGILANCE project, everything is in place so that the family’s experience with the services is improved in order to rebuild confidence, act in prevention and thus provide tools to vulnerable families. Let us also underline the great work of collaboration between the partners of the region which is carried out for VIGILANCE, and this, for the good of the families”, mentions Lesley Hill, director of the Direction des programmes Jeunesse et des Activités de santé publique (DPJASP) of the CISSS of Montérégie-Ouest.
The outreach of a community
For this 4th edition of the campaign, the Fondation de l’Hôpital du Suroît will count on the participation of 20 Tim Hortons® restaurants located in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Vaudreuil-Dorion, Pincourt, L’Île-Perrot, Rigaud, Coteau-du-Lac, Saint-Lazare, Les Coteaux, Beauharnois and Ormstown. In fact, the whole of Montérégie-Ouest will rally for the cause.
What sets this campaign apart from the others is the increased participation of citizens and partners who come together year after year. Several employers, groups of employees, make a point of ordering several boxes. Others will participate in their own way. For example, during Smile Cookie Week, Les Barbares will add $ 1 to the cost of their service which will be donated to the cause. For his part, Eric Rochette of the Mikes restaurant in Valleyfield, offered Dan Lajeunesse, manager of several Tim Hortons® in the region, to take on free of charge the delivering of boxes of cookies ordered by companies. Also, the Dez Taverne Urbaine and Jazz restaurants will incorporate the smile cookies into the creation of a dessert.
An ambitious goal
For the 4th edition, the goal is to sell 75,000 smile cookies to raise $ 75,000. While ambitious, it remains achievable given the popularity of the campaign each year.
