Putting a smile on kids’ faces

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Donna Litwin-Makey, executive director of the Children’s Treatment Centre of Chatham-Kent, accepts a cheque for more than $11,000 from local Tim Hortons owners Mike and Paula Grail. The Grails teamed up with fellow Tim Hortons owner Guy Pritchard to run the Smile Cookie Program last fall, where all proceeds went to the treatment centre.
Donna Litwin-Makey, executive director of the Children’s Treatment Centre of Chatham-Kent, accepts a cheque for more than $11,000 from local Tim Hortons owners Mike and Paula Grail. The Grails teamed up with fellow Tim Hortons owner Guy Pritchard to run the Smile Cookie Program last fall, where all proceeds went to the treatment centre.

Talk about a popular fundraising program.

Local Tim Hortons owners joined forces back in the fall to sell cookies, with the proceeds going to the Children’s Treatment Centre of Chatham-Kent. On Jan. 20, the owners revealed their donation total to the centre.

In about a week’s time, the Smile Cookie Program – at Tim’s locations in and around Chatham owned by Guy Pritchard and Mike and Paula Grail – resulted in more than $11,000 raised.

“We started it back up in Chatham,” Paula Grail said of the program. “It’s a great program. We’re happy to be able to offer it to the community.”

Paula said it’s a national Tim Horton’s program.

“Each location gets to pick a charity to support,” she said.

As for selling cookies to raise money, the treats tend to sell themselves, she added.

“It’s a great product,” she said of the smiles cookies. “It does put a smile on your face.”

Donna Litwin-Makey, executive director of the Children’s Treatment Centre, said staff were hands on in helping the fundraising reach its full potential.

“We had a steady supply of cookies here. It seemed whenever someone went out, they came back with cookies,” she said. “We were certainly honoured to be chosen as the charity of choice.”

The full proceeds from the cookies, $1 each, went to the treatment centre.

Litwin-Makey said the money will be put towards purchasing a new piano for the centre’s music therapy program, as well as expanding the social work program.

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