Smile Cookie campaign to support NICU

It’s the most wonderful time of the year - the annual Tim Hortons Smile Cookie campaign is back and is once again supporting Kingston Health Sciences Centre’s smallest patients.

From Monday September 11 to Friday September 17, many Tim Hortons locations in Kingston will be donating the proceeds from the sales of the smile cookies to University Hospitals Kingston Foundation. The funds will be used to support the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at KHSC’s KGH site.

“Donations like this allow us look after some very unwell babies,” explained Dr. Bob Connelly, medical director of pediatrics. “Imagine that you’re expecting a baby, and for nine months you envision the healthy baby that you can take home in a few days. Our nursery is full of patients who can tell you that’s not what happens every time. It’s incredibly stressful for them – so imagine if a family had the added stress of having to go to another city to get that care. The work that Tim Hortons is doing in our community through Smile Cookie allows us to continue to do the work we are doing right here in Kingston.”

Sales of the $1 cookies help charities, hospitals and community programs across Canada in the cities where they are sold. Over the past few years, local Tim Hortons have donated over $280,000 to the NICU at KGH as a result of the campaign.

“This is such a great example of families helping families,” says Denise Cumming, President & CEO of the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation. “This is not just financial support, but there is incredible community building that comes from this wonderful activity that happens all across our region.”

Nationally, Tim Hortons restaurant owners support more than 350 local charities through the annual Smile Cookie fundraiser.

“I would encourage anyone who is out and about over the next week to buy not just one cookie but a box of cookies for the entire office or to share with your friends because the cause is fantastic,” says Sherri Agnew, CEO, J.E. Agnew Food Services Ltd. which owns several Kingston Tim Hortons locations.

Stop by any of the following locations to buy a Smile Cookie for yourself and support the NICU:

• KGH – Abramsky Lobby and Cafeteria

• 285 Ontario Street

• 312 Princess at Clergy

• 29 Niagara Park Drive - CFB

• 704 King Street West - Portsmouth Village

• 1166 Division St

• 681 John Counter Blvd. At Montreal Street

• 1177 John Counter near bus terminal

• Sydenham Road at 2260 Princess Street

• 2435 Princess and Centennial

• 660 Arlington Park

• Metro Plaza Bath and Gardiners

• Collins Bay and 4037 Bath Road

• 640 Dalton Ave.

• Princess and Bayridge (inside ESSO)

• Innovation Drive Hi Way 15

• Cataraqui Town Centre 945 Gardiners Rd

• 671 Cataraqui Woods Dr

• 681 Princess Street