Coffee drinkers, mark your calendars and get ready to show you care about kids in your local community. This year’s Tim Hortons Camp Day – the annual fundraiser that sends economically disadvantaged kids to camp – takes place today: Wednesday, June 6.
On Camp Day, Tim Hortons restaurant owners generously donate all proceeds from coffee sales to the Tim Horton Children’s Foundation (THCF), helping send more than 15,000 kids each year on an unforgettable, life-changing, fun-filled camping adventure that will inspire them for years to come. Last year alone, thanks to Tim Hortons guests and through efforts of more than 3,700 Tim Hortons restaurants, $9.9 million was raised in Canada and the United States.
In addition to purchasing a coffee, guests can help send even more kids to camp by donating in a variety of ways, including:
• Foundation coin boxes at your local Tim Hortons – a great way to get rid of your pennies;
• Rent-a-Tent for a $1 donation;
• Rent-a-Cabin for a $5 donation;
• Online at sendakidtocamp.com;
• Text CAMP to 45678 to donate $5.
“Camp Day gives us all a chance to help a deserving kid take part in the experience of a lifetime. All it takes is your spare change, even just pennies, to add up to something so significant and meaningful, like sending kids from your community to camp,” said Dave Newnham, president and executive director, Tim Horton Children’s Foundation. “Once a child attends our camp, they return home with a more positive attitude and greater confidence about their future.”
The Tim Horton Children’s Foundation started in 1975 in Parry Sound, Ont. with just one camp and 200 kids. It now operates six year-round camps across North America and has served more than 175,000 kids through its programs.
The Foundation’s programming has also grown over the past 37 years: Children aged nine to 18 attend one of the three types of programs offered, including a traditional summer camp, a year-round camp serving schools and youth groups in the fall, winter and spring, and a five-level program focused on building lifelong leadership skills.
Children are selected to attend the summer camp program by Tim Hortons restaurant owners who work closely with local youth organizations and schools in their communities to identify kids who would most benefit from an experience at camp. Most often, this camp experience is the first time a child has traveled outside their town or city or has ever experienced camp. During their stay at a THCF camp, kids participate in a wide range of first-class programs and activities designed to build self-confidence, self-esteem and leadership skills. The powerful life experiences learned at THCF camps come at absolutely no cost to the kids and their families.
“The support that we see from our communities year after year is outstanding, and goes a long way toward changing a child’s life,” said Newnham. “The success of Camp Day wouldn’t be possible without our loyal guests and dedicated Tim Hortons restaurant owners and team members.”
"Like" the THCF on Facebook at facebook.com/timhortonchildrensfoundation and follow @TimHortons on Twitter to join the #CampDay and #THCF conversation.