If the line-up at Tim Hortons’ drive-through looked a bit longer on June 4, it wasn’t your imagination – people were lining up to buy coffee to help under-privileged kids head to camp.
The annual Camp Day event takes place Canada-wide as Tim Hortons restaurants gear up with special events, silent auctions, special guests, and special gear, all aimed at helping raise funds to keep the Tim Hortons camps across Canada open and operating.
All coffee sales on June 4 go to the camps, and as coffee is the restaurants’ biggest seller, it’s no small chunk of coin.
Proceeds from the Stettler Tim Hortons go to Camp Kanakaskis, which is where area kids head if selected to attend the camp.
Kimberly DeVloo is a manager at Tim Hortons and was one of the Camp Day coordinators.
“We had such an outpouring of help from local businesses and volunteers,” she said, gesturing over at the silent auction table which held a selection of items donated to the event. Throughout the day, in addition to the silent auction and coffee sales, money was raised by 50/50 ticket sales and volunteer “squeegee girls” who were cleaning windshields of people waiting in line at the drive-through for a toonie.
Even though some people declined a windshield wash, more often than not, they would toss coins in the bucket anyway, willing to help out, something DeVloo said was an indication of the generous spirit of the community.