Tim Hortons locations in Sarnia and Bright's Grove are handing all Smile Cookies proceeds to the Inn of the Good Shepherd through Sunday. The spring fundraiser features the chain's chocolate chunk cookies topped with a pink smile, along with smile cookie plushies, donation options and bulk cookie orders at the participating stores.
For the Inn, the timing matters. Executive director Jack Christine said the charity was very fortunate to be chosen again, noting the last time it benefited from the campaign was 2023, when it raised just over $71,000. He said the group is hoping to beat that total this year as it works to help people put food on the table for the next couple of weeks.
The fundraiser goes to an organization that runs a foodbank, soup kitchen, shelters and other services for people in need, serving more than 2,000 individuals a month. Christine said the campaign is a strong community fundraiser for the charity at a time when it is seeing growing demand and declining donations.
The Inn was recently accredited through Food Banks Canada’s standards of excellence program, a system created in 2024 that includes more than 80 standards covering governance, administration and food operations. Christine said the accreditation gives the organization a baseline to be accountable for the service it provides, while also pushing it to improve. He said he is proud of the staff and volunteers who helped it reach that mark.
The charity’s latest boost comes in late 2025, after previous executive director Myles Vanni retired and Christine was hired. For the Inn, the cookies are doing more than drawing a line of pink smiles across the counter. They are adding cash to a network of services that many in the community are relying on more heavily, and the fundraiser’s success through Sunday will show just how much local support can still be mobilized when the need is plain.
