Bancroft Smile Cookie Campaign raises over $29,000 for local charities

By Mike Riley

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

At the cheque presentation for the Bancroft Smile Cookie Campaign at the Valleyview Drive location on June 14, it was revealed that this year's campaign raised an impressive $29,061.96 for local charities. This year's cheque presentation was bittersweet, as it was made in memory of the assistant manager of the Valleyview Drive location, Katrina Munro. Munro, who was a major force behind the success of the Smile Cookie Campaign at her store, recently passed away unexpectedly.

The cheque presentation at the Tim Hortons Valleyview Drive location in Bancroft on June 14 revealed a grand total raised this year of $29,061.96, which beat last year's total of $26,834. This was accomplished even though one of the days, the store didn't have hydro and they took the Smile Cookie sales outside under a tent to keep selling them with coffee, according to Petra Roberts, who is the administrator at both Bancroft locations.

Mark Walsh, who owns the Valleyview Drive location and the Hastings Street location with his wife Davida, makes special mention of the Valleyview Drive location's assistant manager Katrina Munro, the daughter of the store manager Diane, passed away unexpectedly and will be truly missed.

“She was amazing with the [Smile] cookies. She was always baking cookies, so it's been somewhat challenging for us,” he says.

The Tim Hortons Smile Cookie Campaign has been raising money for local charities for over 25 years, raising $15 million for over 600 local charities and community groups across Canada last year. Over $90 million has been raised since the program began back in 1996. One hundred percent of the proceeds before taxes go to local charities and this year was the first year the price of the cookies went up; from $1.00 to $1.50. Walsh says the rationale of that move was to make the same amount of money while making less cookies.

“The number of cookies [being made] are so high and we're trying to reduce the amount of work it is and try to get the same amount [of money] but we actually did better,” he says.

Walsh reveals that they're coming out with another Smile Cookie in November; a Holiday Cookie.

“So, they wanted to try to amend the schedule so we had the Smile Cookie, Roll Up the Rim, Camp Day and a couple of other events so the Holiday Cookie will go to support our Kids' Camp which has suffered in the last 10 years. First, a lot more people have switched to online payment versus cash, so our Tims boxes don't get as much change. Then they got rid of the penny, so that also hurt. So, they need to raise funds for that, so 50 per cent of the proceeds will go to the camp while the other 50 per cent will go to another local charity,” he says.

Overall, though, Walsh says it was another record setting year for the Smile Cookie Campaign in Bancroft.

“Every year we've gone higher and higher!”