You can treat yourself to Smile Cookie at your Newmarket and Aurora Tim Hortons beginning Monday and know that you're supporting your hospital, Southlake Regional Health Centre.
The annual fundraising campaign featuring the iconic chocolate chip cookies with pink and blue smiley faces returns Sept. 13 to 20, with proceeds going to Southlake Foundation.
The decision to support the hospital came from an agreement between Newmarket and Aurora Tim Hortons owners.
“It is nice to get together for a common cause. As you can see, we all get along but we compete with each other to a certain degree, but it’s great to be able to say 'hey, we’re all doing this for one reason, to support Southlake',” said Jim Alexander, owner of Tim Hortons locations in Newmarket.
He said they spoke with the hospital about its most pressing needs.
“We talked to them about their urgent needs and the funding from the Smile Cookie program, it was a perfect match. We expect to go over $100,000 this year to give to Southlake for whatever the urgent needs are that they have in the hospital,” Alexander said.
Jennifer Klotz-Ritter, president and CEO of Southlake Foundation, said the donation will go to support a lot of physical needs at the hospital.
“The goal is $100,000 and that $100,000 goes to equipment, advanced technology, replacement, putting the tools in the hands of physicians and staff. This is an important part of community partnership and community investment,” she said.
Klotz-Ritter said that because taxes don’t entirely fund health-care needs, the support is even more important.
“Community investment is vital and the Tim Hortons group knows that very, very well and has stepped up both during COVID and now on an ongoing basis to be part of that,” she said.
She joined the foundation in January 2021 and since then said she’s been inspired by the hospital’s relationship with Newmarket and the other communities they serve.
“Having joined the organization eight months ago in the middle of the pandemic, I am inspired by how the community — individuals and businesses — has stepped up for the hospital. The hospital is always by our side, but the community is also by Southlake’s side,” Klotz-Ritter said. “It really is this incredible village of support and commitment to one another, so I’ve been really inspired by that.”
