Lethbridge's Tim Hortons franchises have donated over $70,000 to the Lethbridge School Division's Poverty Intervention Committee, through the Smile Cookie campaign. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Tim Hortons donates over $70K to Lethbridge school poverty program

May 15, 2025 | 11:22 AM

“It, honestly, is indescribable. We are so grateful for this level of support from Tim Hortons franchise owners in Lethbridge, but also the community.”

Those are the words of Lethbridge School Division trustee Kristina Larkin after receiving a cheque for $70,750.69 from this year’s Smile Cookie campaign.

The money will go to the Division’s Poverty Intervention Committee (PIC), which supports students with any financial barriers to learning they might face.

“This year, we’re really seeing a big need for food supports, in particular,” says Larkin.

She says the Division receives about two to three requests every day for immediate food support from families.

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“We also support [students] with things like winter attire to make sure children can, you know, walk to school, get to school, play outside – we know play is essential for learning and you can’t play if your shoes are broken and the water comes in.”

The Division typically spends between $45,000 and $50,000 annually on costs related to the PIC, so Larkin says this donation will future-proof it for the next 1.5 years.

Tim Hortons franchise owner Brandon Banga says the Smile Cookie campaign is their biggest annual fundraiser and it is one he looks forward to every year.

The initiative involves donating the proceeds from all sales of Smile Cookies to a deserving, local cause.

“A big part of Tim Hortons is that we facilitate and we work with underrepresented groups – kids, children, children’s groups – that’s kind of what we do. That’s the whole purpose of Smile Cookie is to partner with those groups so that we can give the most support that we possibly can,” says Banga.

He adds that the PIC touched on everything that Tim Hortons values, so it was an easy decision to choose them as the recipient.

Smile Cookies sell for $2 each, so even when accounting for some cash donations, Banga estimates that the Lethbridge locations sold around 35,000 cookies.

“We had an increase of over $20,000 from last year’s campaign.”

The local franchise owners expect that the Lethbridge School Division will receive the money in the next few weeks.

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